

REV. SOLOMON WEAVER 

Virtual Founder of the Western College and First President 1856-1864. 



WESTERN- 
LEANDER-CLARK 
COLLEGE 

1856—1911^ 

By * / \ 
Professor Henry W.'Ward. A. M. 




1911 

Otterbein Press 

Dayton, Ohio 






Vl3 







'TnO the great-hearted pioneers who, seeing from afar 
-■- the vision of a cultured Christian citizenship, fifty 
years ago planted Western College on the open prairies 
of Iowa; to the men and women who with parental 
solicitude watched over the Institution through its 
infancy and youth ; to all the loyal-hearted host who 
have given unstintedly of their means, of their service, 
of their devoted tears and prayers that the College 
might live and become a power for righteousness ; and 
especially to Major Leander Clark, who made possible 
the greater things of the present and the future, this 
volume is, with reverent appreciation, inscribed. 




Foreword 



FOREWORD. 



/■frjjuj'HE life story of noble fathers should always be 
11 treasured by their children, both as a family heri- 
^^ tage of priceless worth and as an inspiration to 
them and their sons in turn to add to the luster of so 
fair a name, scorning ignoble deeds. 

The life story of a Christian College, begotten of the 
desire to bless mankind, nurtured in benevolence, and 
matured in selfless service, should be, nay must be, en- 
shrined in the heart of every son and daughter who has 
felt the benign touch of a foster mother so patient and so 
gentle. There is something peculiarly sacred and worthy 
of adoration in the life of such an institution ; it is so far 
removed from worldly or vulgar aims and ideals, and yet 
so delightfully inwrought with warm human affections 
and genial human associations; it is the essence of a 
thousand personalities, of a thousand friendships, all 
refined and hallowed by the breath of angels. 

The spot, too, that shelters such a college must claim 
its due of grateful remembrance, just as the home that 
gave him birth and sheltered his infancy draws the heart 
of every true son with a love that only increases with the 
lengthening years. Life's larger scenes and stern de- 
mands may lead his footsteps far away ; a new home may 
enwrap his life with ever-widening tendrils of affection, 
and still the old spot retains its preeminence among his 
purest, tenderest memories. 

The present volume has sprung primarily from the 
conviction that the history of Western College would 

5 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

enrich all her children, and, secondly, from the discovery 
that the pioneers who knew the early history were fast 
passing away and that a few more years would make im- 
possible any lifelike story of those early days. Formal 
records of the pioneer period are extremely meager, and 
personal recollections are the only adequate source of 
information. 

An effort has been made to present not only the tangi- 
ble, visible framework of external facts that usually 
passes as history, but also that intangible, unseen, but 
very real inner essence of history made up of spirit and 
personality. To that end much space has been given to 
the personal story of the men and women whose lives 
have gone into the making of the College; the life of the 
College is, in fact, but the composite of such personal 
lives with the accidents of earth and time refined away. 

So far as expedient, the authentic record, the account 
of an eye witness, written while the occurrence was still 
a fresh experience, and the personal recollections of some 
one who has lived through the old scenes, have been pre- 
sented just as the historian found them, in order to give 
the many-sided points of view that add worth to history. 

The writing of any history is a difficult task — ^the writ- 
ing of a history such as the one here undertaken fain 
would have been, is all but impossible. The priceless 
things are those of soul, the finer fleeting sensibilities, the 
''mysterious deeps of personality," and the myriad mani- 
festations of ever-lovable human nature. These things 
having no earthly shell leave no fossil print to mark the 
way they went. The historian must glean from a hint 
here and a delicate influence there, and must infer the 
rest. Even in the case of material fact, it is often im- 
possible to secure adequate information. 

6 



Foreword 

The compiler of this history, therefore, pleads for 
indulgence for omissions and mis judgments. He has 
been torn between the desire to name all who contributed 
in a characteristic way to the sum we prize as our history, 
and the fear to name any lest the more significant act and 
the more truly representative spirit should escape notice 
and thus seem to have been underprized. The best he 
has been able to do is to present only those names and 
deeds of which some happy fortune left traces and sent 
them down to him, or that by lucky chance linger in his 
own memory. 

Grateful acknowledgement is made to Captain E. B. 
Soper, Mrs. S. J. Staves, Honorable T. G. Smith, Dr. 
W. T. Jackson, Professor A. W. Drury, Dr. Lewis Book- 
waiter, Dr. W. I. Beatty, Mr. J. L. Drury, and many 
others for valuable data supplied and for numerous rem- 
iniscences furnished. Files of the Western College 
Advocate, the Western College Reporter, and Western 
College Light, ih^ Religions Telescope, the Toledo Chron- 
icle, the Western College Catalogue, and the minutes 
of the Board of Trustees and of the Executive Commit- 
tee, have also been of much service. 

H. W. W. 

Tole'do, lowa^ April, 1911. 



CD^otttentfl 



CHAPTER I. 

Interest in the Work of Higher Education. Founding of a 
College Recommended by the General Conference of 
1845. Action by the Iowa Conference 1855 13 

CHAPTER II. 

Preliminary Steps in Selecting a Site. Securing Donations. 
The Town of Western. Erection of a College Building. 
The Western College Advocate 23 

CHAPTER III. 

Opening Day at Western. Small Beginnings. First "Exhi- 
bition." Manual Labor. Social and Religious Life. . . 41 

-CHAPTER IV. 
Early Founders. Early Teachers. Early Students 55 

CHAPTER V. 
Early Finances. Agents. Financial Difficulties 98 

CHAPTER VI. 

The Patriotism of Western. First Enlistment. In War 
Times. When the War was Over. Western's Roll of 
Honor 110 

CHAPTER VII. 

Dawn of a New Era. President E. B. Kephart. Larger 

Attendance. Increasing Financial Embarrassments.. 125 

9 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Agitation for Relocation. Causes Leading Thereto. Pro- 
viding for the Old Debt. Seeking a new Location. 
Proposition from Toledo. The Empty Nest 147 

CHAPTER IX. 

Reorganization of Faculty. Opening of School at Toledo. 
Financial Affairs. M. S. Drury. L. H. Bufkin. 
Teachers and Students. President Beardshear 161 

CHAPTER X. 

Third Crisal Period. Burning of Main Building. Grow- 
ing Financial Embarrassments. Internal Life. Crisis 
of 1893-94 186 

CHAPTER XL 

President Bookwalter Elected. Plan of Operation. Faculty 
Secured. Financial Situation. Internal Growth. Debt 
Paying Campaign 213 

CHAPTER XII. 

The Next Step. Leander Clark's Proposition. Delayed 
Hopes. Inauguration of President Kephart. Endow- 
ment Campaign. Major Leander Clark. Semicen- 
tennial Celebration. Internal Affairs 278 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Another Preliminary Step. President F. E. Brooke. Burn- 
ing of Notes and Mortgages. Internal Affairs. Quad- 
rennial Celebration 312 

CHAPTER XIV. 

A Chapter of Miscellany. Coeducation. College Publi- 
cations. Organizations. Missionaries. Transporta- 
tion. Material Equipment ' 332 

Appendix 349 

10 



iUufitratinttB 

Rev. Solomon Weaver, Frontispiece. 

Capt. W. H. Shuey. 

Adam Perry. 

Jacob A. Shuey. 

Rev. J. E. Bowersox. 

First College Building at Western. 

First College Building at Toledo After the Fire of 1889 

Professor Sylvester S. Dillman. 

Mrs. Emily L. Dillman. 

Professor M. W. Bartlett. 

W. T. Jackson. 

Mrs. S. J. Staves. 

E. R. Smith, M. D. 

Hon. W. F. Johnston. 

Faculty of 1877. 

President E. B. Kephart, D, D. 

Rev. M. S. Drury. 

President W. M. Beardshear. 

President J. S. Mills. 

President A. M. Beal. 

Hon. E. C. Ebersole, 

Rev. George Miller. D. D. 

President Lewis Bookwalter. 

John Dodds. 

Major Leander Clark. 

President C. J. Kephart. 

Rev. W. T. Beatty. 

Professor E. F. Warren. 

Professor W. S. Reese. 

Professor B. F. McClelland. 

11 



Rev. L. H. Bufkin. 

Rev. N. F. Hicks. 

Rev. R. E. Graves. 

Rev. O. G. Mason. 
Jacob Gutshall. 

A. H. Dolph. 

J. K. Hobaugh. 

Jennie Mclntyre Fletcher. 

S. R. Lichtenwalter. 

Adam Shambaugh. 

Hon. John Shambaugh. 

Hon. H. J. Stiger. 

President Franklin E. Brooke. 

Burning the Last Notes and Mortgages, February 1, 1910. 

Professor Henry W. Ward. 

Dr. W. O. Krohn. 

Professor E. F. Buchner. 

Judge U. S. Guyer. 

Rev. Willis A. Warren. 

Austia Patterson Shumaker. 

Rev. I. N Cain. 

Mrs. T. N. Cain. 

Dr. Mary Archer. 

Administration Building. 

President's Office. 



12 



Chapter I. 

INTEREST IN THE WORK OF HIGHER EDUCATION. 
THE UNITED BRETHREN CHURCH LATE IN AWAKEN- 
ING, FOUNDING OF A COLLEGE RECOMMENDED BY 
THE GENERAL CONFERENCE OF 1845. AGITATION IN 
SEVERAL CONFERENCES. ACTION BY THE IOWA 
CONFERENCE, 1855. 

Although Philip William Otterbein, founder of the 
United Brethren Church, had been profoundly educated 
in Germany, both in general letters and in theology, and 
many of his associates were men of learning and culture, 
it seems not to have occurred to these fathers that higher 
education was any part of the work designed by God for 
the newly organized church. It is even doubtful whether 
at first there was any thought of a new and separate 
church organization, the fathers feeling that their mission 
was to preach the flaming gospel of personal repentance 
and intense religious experience within established 
churches that had grown lifeless and formal. 

To them the all-important thing seemed to be the call- 
ing of men and women to repentance through deep con- 
viction for sin, and when this was accomplished they 
seemed to think their work was done, and the newly- 
quickened believers, whether within the old churches or 
from the world, were left to find fellowship wherever 
they might. Only after years of dissatisfaction with the 
religious life about them, and of positive persecutions on 
the part of the churches, did these holders of common 
religious convictions drift together into a new religious 
fellowship. Then at last the fathers saw the necessity 

13 



Western — Leander-CIark College 

of forming a new church organization and providing 
spiritual shepherding for these flocks. Even then so 

little importance was attached to mere church member- 
ship and so much stress laid upon personal salvation that, 
after more than half a century of life as a church, during 
which time sweeping revivals won converts by multiplied 
thousands, the actual membership of the church barely 
reached 30,000. 

If the early leaders of the Church gave any thought 
at all to higher education in connection with church life, 
it was with a feeling of misgiving or positive mistrust, 
since the wealthier and most cultured of the old churches 
were notoriously the most worldly and spiritually lifeless. 
Many devout rr^en feared that education would beget 
pride and would tend to lessen the ''unction of the spirit," 
which to them was the all-comprehensive qualification of 
the gospel preacher. Besides, the appeal of the United 
Brethren Church throughout its early history was almost 
wholly to an uneducated, hard-headed rural folk, who 
cared only that their religious teachings should move them 
mightily by its fervor. 

After the Church had been in existence for nearly fifty 
years a new consciousness began to take hold of the more 
thoughtful, both in the ministry and the laity. It began 
to be felt that mere church membership as part of a defi- 
nite organization needed to be more emphasized, and that 
church loyalty and even a degree of church pride could 
be made effective in spreading the gospel message. It 
was further seen, partly from the example of other 
churches, that institutions of learning furnish centers 
around which whole districts can rally, drawn together 
by the bond of a common interest. 

The final consideration that led the United Brethren 

14 



Interest in the Work 

Church to espouse higher education as a definite depart- 
ment of church activity was the instinct of self-preserva- 
tion. All movements in human society experience periods 
of special impetus in a given direction. At this particular 
time for the Protestant churches of America — especially 
in Ohio where the United Brethren Church was strongest 
— there was an unbounded zeal for education, a zeal that 
expended itself in eagerly founding schools and colleges. 
To these schools and colleges children from United 
Brethren homes went for their education, and many of 
them entered the church that fostered the particular 
college they had learned to love. Young men educated 
in those colleges naturally found their way into the min- 
istry of those churches. To meet the needs of the times, 
and especially the demands of the future, the Church saw 
that it must provide institutions of its own for the higher 
education of its youth. 

The first official step toward founding an institution of 
learning for the denomination was taken by the ninth 
General Conference in the history of the Church, then in 
session at Circleville, Ohio, in May, 1845. Rev. E. 
Vandemark, of the Scioto Conference, introduced the 
subject of higher education to the attention of the Gen- 
eral Conference by offering the following resolutions : 

"Resolved, That proper measures be adopted to estab- 
lish an institution of learning." 

"Resolved, That it be recommended to the annual con- 
ferences, avoiding, however, irredeemable debts." 

After long and earnest discussion the resolutions were 
adopted by a vote of nineteen yeas to five nays. 

The agitation that at once began in various annual con- 
ferences shows that many local leaders w^ere impatiently 
waiting for just such authoritative sanction. What 

15 




First College Building at Western. 




First College Building at Toledo after the fire of LS89. 



Interest in the Work 

ington, In that State, but the college did not materialize. 
In February of the same year the Allegheny Conference 
resolved to build a college in Mt. Pleasant, Pa., or Johns- 
town, Pa. The resolution was carried into effect. The 
college was located in Mt. Pleasant, and in 1850 Mt. 
Pleasant College opened its doors for the reception of 
students. In 1849 the Indiana Conference resolved to 
open a seminary in Hartsville, Indiana. Subsequently 
the White River Conference indorsed the project, and 
later the St. Joseph and Wabash conferences for a time 
gave it nominal support. This flattering success so in- 
spired the friends of the seminary that they changed the 
name of the school to Hartsville University. In 1853 the 
Illinois Conference established Blandinville Seminary, in 
Blandinville, Illinois. Also about the same time the 
Michigan Conference accepted a transfer of the Michigan 
Union College, located at Leoni, Michigan, from the 
Wesleyan Methodist Church. Thus, in quick succession, 
came the different schools in our educational beginnings. 
The location of many of these schools was as equally un- 
wise as their number." 

The ten years that followed the General Conference of 
1845 witnessed an epoch of expansion for the United 
Brethren Church, as well as for the whole region lying in 
the central Mississippi Valley. Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois 
were rapidly becoming populous, and a tidal wave of im- 
migration was pouring into the region beyond the Missis- 
sippi greatly increased by the discovery of gold in Cali- 
fornia. Ohio had already become the seat of United 
Brethrenism, with the center at Circleville, and from this 
center operations were directed with a view to possessing 
and holding for the Church a share of the adjoining terri- 
tory, especially toward the west. Almost the whole story 

17 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

of the frontier in those days could be told by relating in 
full the lives of the pioneer preachers, either sent out by 
the various Protestant churches, or themselves hurrying 
forward in their eagerness to extend the outposts of Zion. 
When that complete and honorable story is told, it will 
be found that the pioneer preachers of the United Breth- 
ren Church deserve by no means the last share of com- 
mendation and praise. The circuit rider went every- 
where looking after both the temporal and the spiritual 
welfare of his widely-scattered flock. The presiding 
elder traversed larger districts at less frequent intervals 
to map out plans of campaigns, to select strategic points 
in which to plant churches, and, like a good general, to 
direct all the operations of his extended line of battle. 
Following, and often leading, the tide of immigration, 
these devout and sturdy pioneers, traversed and occupied 
large sections of Indiana and Illinois, and then pushed on 
across the Mississippi into Iowa and the region still 
farther west. 

In the early fifties the tide set in strong toward Iowa, 
drawn by the irresistible lure of the rolling prairies with 
their fringes of woodland and stream. The Church of 
the United Brethren in Christ had already been planted in 
many places in Iowa, and many earnest ministers were 
laboring zealously in behalf of the chosen denomination. 
Among the later arrivals were a few men who had been 
members of the annual conferences farther east that 
responded most promptly to the recommendations of the 
General Conference of 1845 at Circleville, urging the 
founding of an institution of learning under the auspices 
of the Church. A leader among these was Rev. Solomon 
Weaver, who came to Iowa in 1855, direct from the 
financial agency of Otterbein University, a position to 

18 



Interest in the Work 

which he could have been drawn only by a burning zeal In 
behalf of higher education as a means of furthering the 
kingdom of God on earth. 

Mostly self-educated and keenly conscious of the ham- 
pering effects of the lack of learning upon the progress 
of the Church, these good men occasionally indulged in 
dreams of some day starting a high school or college west 
of the Mississippi, but the majority of churchmen in 
Iowa thought that such dreams must remain idle and vis- 
sionary for many years to come. In the presence of 
grave doubts on the part of the few advocates of a church 
school and indifference or hostility on the part of the 
majority, no attempt was made to crystallize sentiment in 
favor of such an undertaking until 1855. In that year. 
Rev. Solomon Weaver came to Benton County, Iowa, 
and took up work in the Iowa Conference. Having been 
intensely interested in the early years of Otterbein Uni- 
versity, and having served for a short time as its financial 
agent, Mr. Weaver came to Iowa with a burning zeal for 
education by the Church and an abiding conviction that 
the time for action was at hand. His faith in a possible 
kingdom of enlightened Christian ideals was almost as 
sublime as that of Abraham, who, when his children were 
few and wanderers in the land of promise, believed the 
word of Jehovah that his seed should become as numer- 
ous as the stars of heaven, and should possess all the 
land they now trod upon, and should fill it with a nation 
destined to be a blessing to all mankind. So vital a part 
did Rev. Solomon Weaver take in establishing and main- 
taining a church school in Iowa that he merits the honor 
of being regarded as the founder of Western College, 
and for that deserves the grateful remembrance of 
posterity. 

19 



IV est em — L eander-Clark Collegr 

At the session of the Iowa Conference, held in Musca- 
tine, in August, 1855, the sentiment in favor of taking up 
educational work in the west at once began to take on 
more unity and strength. A majority of the members of 
the conference looked upon the proposal to build a 
college in the west, under the auspices of the United 
Brethren in Christ, as wholly visionary. Some of the 
more progressive were inclined to look with favor upon 
the establishment of a high school at some future time, 
but thought action now would be premature. A very 
few believed that the time was at hand "to launch the 
ship." 

These friends of the movement presented to the 
conference a resolution to set aside a certain hour in 
which to consider the educational interests of the Church 
in Iowa and plead the cause so earnestly that the resolu- 
tions were passed without strenuous opposition. At the 
same time a committee of three, consisting of Solomon 
Weaver, J. J. Huber, and M. G. Miller, was appointed 
to prepare a plan whereby the cause of education might 
be promoted within the jurisdiction of the conference. 

At the hour appointed by the previous resolution a 
long and earnest discussion was precipitated by the con- 
cise, practical report of the committee that had been 
charged with the duty of presenting a plan for promoting 
the educational interests of the Church in Iowa. The 
committee, with characteristic directness, recommended, 
first, the election of a Board of Trustees, whose duty it 
should be to select a site for the location of a college 
within or near the bounds of the Iowa Conference; and, 
second, the appointment of a traveling agent to solicit 
funds for the erection of a primary building. All this 
was a bold proposal, and many cautious hearts recoiled 

20 



Interest in the Work. 

from the undertaking, and some hostile ones opposed it. 
Solomon Weaver, J. C. Bright, Martin Bowman, and 
others used their powers of persuasion so effectively that 
the recommendations were adopted by a decisive vote. 
The election of a Board of Trustees resulted in the choice 
of Solomon Weaver, president; Martin G. Miller, secre- 
tary; Joseph Miller, Daniel Runkle, and Jonathan Neidig. 
George Miller was elected traveling agent. A committee 
was then appointed to define more fully the duty of the 
Board of Trustees. The committee named was : J. C. 
Bright, chairman, Martin Bowman, and Solomon Weaver. 
When the report of the committee was presented the 
latent enthusiasm for the new college had risen to such 
a pitch that the report was promptly adopted by a unani- 
mous vote. The report, somewhat imperatively, recom- 
mended that the Board of Trustees be required, as soon 
as possible, to select a site for the location of the college 
in as convenient a place as possible for the whole Church 
in Iowa ; and in the selection of the site, that the Board 
of Trustees be further required to extend an invitation 
to the following members of the Des Moines Conference 
to meet the Iowa Board in selecting a site: J. DeMoss, 
George Bonebrake, Henry Bonebrake, A. A. Sellers, and 
J. Hopkins. The conference, by resolution, voted that 
the institution be known by the name of the Western 
College of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, 
a name appropriate enough at that time, as the college 
was then the farthest west of the institutions of the 
Church. 

Thus the "ship was launched," to the satisfaction of all 
concerned, and the members of the conference went to 
their fields of labor ready to champion the new enter- 
prise. The fact that they did not fully realize the vast- 

21 



Western— Leander-Clark College 

ness of the task to which they were committing them- 
selves, as compared with the meagerness of their re- 
sources, need not lessen the sublimity of their faith nor 
the loyalty and purity of their motives. 



22 



Chapter II. 

SOME PRELIMINARY STEPS IN SELECTING A SITE. 
SECURING DONATIONS. THE TOWN OF WESTERN. 
ERECTION OF A BUILDING. PLANS FOR OPENING 
SCHOOL. WESTERN COLLEGE ADVOCATE. 

The first meeting of the Board of Trustees of Western 
College was held at Vinton, Benton County, Iowa, Octo- 
ber 15, 1855. There were present, Solomon Weaver, 
Martin G. Miller, Daniel Runkle, and Jonathan Neidig; 
absent, Joseph Miller. Rev. Asa Coho, being present, 
was invited to sit as an advisory member of the Board. 
The propriety of attempting to build a college was dis- 
cussed at considerable length, and then, on the motion of 
M. G. Miller, the Board voted unanimously to proceed 
in accordance with the instructions of the conference to 
select a site for the College. The Board passed a resolu- 
tion that a manual labor department be connected with 
the College; it was then decided to locate two hundred 
acres for the college buildings, town, and farm. Rev. Geo. 
Miller, in consequence of ill health, tendered his resigna- 
tion as traveling agent, which resignation was accepted. 
As several offers of a college site from as many localities 
were presented, the Board adjourned to allow the mem- 
bers to examine the sites proposed; one of these sites 
was in Benton County, one in Poweshiek County, one in 
Linn County. 

The second meeting of the Board was held in Lisbon, 
Linn County, November 12, 1855. Representatives from 
the various local communities bidding for the site of the 
College were present with the proposals of said commu- 

23 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

nities. Several representatives requested that selection 
of the site, be deferred a month or two, promising that 
their offers could in that time be swelled to double the 
present amount. The Board accordingly set Monday, 
December 24, as the time for a final hearing of proposals 
for a site. Before adjournment the Board elected its 
secretary, Rev. Martin G. Miller, as traveling agent of 
the College to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation 
of Rev. George Miller; the salary of the agent was fixed 
at three hundred dollars a year. It was also decided that 
immediately after the location should be chosen a resident 
agent should be appointed, whose duty it should be to 
proceed at once with the erection of a substantial brick 
building, not less than sixty-two feet long, thirty-six 
feet wide, and three stories high. 

During the intervals between the adjournment of the 
Board and the next meeting the communities interested in 
securing the location of the college bestirred themselves 
to make as good a showing as possible. The people of 
Shueyville and vicinity were especially earnest in their 
efforts. Father Jacob Shuey and his sons, all laymen 
in the United Brethren Church, generous-hearted men 
and devotedly attached to their Church, took the lead in 
making donations toward the enterprise and in soliciting 
the help of their neighbors. Adam Perry, John W 
Henderson, and W. A. Wherry, none of them -at the 
time members of the Church, were almost equally active 
and generous, giving freely gifts of land and money, and 
aidmg by their interest and earnest advocacy. Among 
the mmisters, Rev. Solomon Weaver and Rev. J E 
Bowersox engaged actively in the securing of the loca- 
tion for Shueyville. Donations to the amount of six 
thousand dollars in cash and lands were secured, and 

34 



Some Preliminary Steps 

Captain William H. Shuey and Jacob A. Shuey, sons of 
Father Jacob Shuey, chief donor, were commissioned to 
carry the proposition of the community to the Board at 
its session, to be held in the Sugar Creek schoolhouse, 
December 24, 1855. As the journey of these brothers 
is characteristic of the difficulties encountered in founding 
Western College, and of the spirit by which those difficul- 
ties were met and conquered, it deserves fuller narration. 

The distance from Shueyville to Sugar Creek was 
about thirty miles, and that distance the brothers were 
constrained to traverse on foot, as the snow was very 
deep and the roads all but impassable for teams. The 
winter of 1855-56 was unusually severe, and when the 
journey began the mercury registered thirty-three degrees 
below zero. After a day of hard struggling through 
snowdrifts and exposure to biting winds and bitter cold, 
the Shueys stopped at a new frame hotel and were put 
into an unplastered room without a fire. In the morn- 
ing Jacob found that his nose had been severely frozen. 
That day, December 24, the journey was continued to the 
Sugar Creek schoolhouse where the proposition of the 
Shueyville community was laid before the Board. 

In the minutes of this, the third regular session of the 
Board, appears the following entry : 

"Inasmuch as William H. Shuey has presented a 
proposition to this Board of a donation of six thousand 
dollars, provided the college be located in the neighbor- 
hood of Shueyville, near the southwest corner of Linn 
County, Iowa ; therefore, 

''Resolved, That we locate Western College near the 
southwest corner of Linn County." 

Whether other propositions were presented to the Board 
^t this session does not appear from the records. At the 

25 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

same session the Board authorized Father Jacob Shuey 
to go to Virginia to borrow $10,000 for the use of 
Western College. Jacob Miller, on account of ill health, 
sent in his resignation as a member of the Board, and 
W. H. Shuey was elected in his stead. Solomon Weaver 
was appointed a committee to procure articles of incor- 
poration for the College in accordance with the Code of 
Iowa. 

The location thus chosen was on the open prairie, one 
mile north of Shueyville. It lay in Section 34, Putnam 
Township, Linn County. The site consisted of 240 
acres, and was intended to furnish land for the College 
buildings and grounds, the town that was expected to 
spring up around the College, and the College nursery. 
Jacob Shuey donated 160 acres, Adam Perry 40 acres, 
and W. A. Wherry 40 acres. In addition, Jacob Shuey 
gave 40 acres of timber land some miles away. The 
motive that led to the choice of such a location for a 
church college was probably twofold. In common with 
many churches, the founders of the College assumed that 
Christian education could best be secured in the quiet of 
the country, or the country village away from the tempta- 
tions and distractions of the city. Another, and perhaps 
stronger motive, was the hope that friends of the enter- 
prise would flock in and build homes in the proposed 
town, or buy up the adjacent farm lands and then give the 
college a thoroughly friendly environment and a strong 
local support. This hope was only partially realized. 

At a session of the Board, held at Shueyville, February 
11, 1856, plans for pushing the College were advanced 
in several important particulars. All members were 
present, and besides nearly all the leading citizens met 
with the Board, drawn together by the deep interest the 

26 



"" Some Preliminary Steps 

undertaking was arousing. All such citizens and friends 
were, by vote, made advisory members of the Board. 
Solomon Weaver, previously appointed for that purpose, 
presented articles of incorporation, the corporation cre- 
ated to go into eflfect March 1, 1856. The report was 
adopted, signed by the proper officers, and ordered re- 
corded in the recorder's office of Linn County. Solomon 
Weaver was elected resident agent of the College, the 
Board defining his duties as follows : To take charge of 
all the property belonging to the College, procuring 
material for a primary building, and superintending the 
erection of said building; to hold all bonds, articles, and 
deeds ; to sell town lots and the property belonging to the 
College ; to make deeds and receive purchase money, and 
report in full to the treasurer every three months, his 
books to be open at all times to the inspection of the 
Executive Committee. Rev. J. E. Bowersox, Captain 
William H. Shuey, and Rev. Solomon Weaver were 
elected the first Executive Committee, all of whom served 
loyally for many years. 

Those present at this meeting, both members of the 
Board of Trustees and visitors, walked north from Shuey- 
ville one mile to Section 34, Putnam Township, the 
proposed location of the College, to make the formal 
selection of a site for buildings and grounds. 

As Jacob A. Shuey remembers, there were nineteen 
persons present on this memorable occasion, some of the 
names recalled being Solomon Weaver, Martin G. Miller, 
Captain W. H. Shuey, Adam Runkle, and Jonathan 
Neidig, members of the Board of Trustees; Father 
Jacob Shuey, Adam Perry, W. A. Wherry, Robert G. 
Shuey, Jason H. Shuey, J. E. Bowersox, and J. A. Shuey, 
interested spectators. Of this entire company only two 

27 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

are living, R. G. Shuey and J. A. Shuey. To that band 
of earnest men there must have come some glimmering 
sense of the great work in which they were engaged, 
one stage of which this day marked, a work not so great 
in itself as in the reliant faith on which it was based 
and the unworldly purity of its aims and ideals. Like 
the Pilgrim Fathers, these Iowa pioneers felt the solemn 
obligations of the future resting upon the small beginning 
of the present. 

The particular plot of ground chosen for college pur- 
poses was an elevated prairie commanding a view of the 
surrounding country. Near the center of this plot a 
campus of seventeen acres was located, and one of the 
highest points on the campus was selected as the site 
of the first college building. When this choice had 
been made, J. A. Shuey, then a lad in his teens, went to 
a fence, some forty rods away, secured a stake and set 
it up in a snowdrift to mark the place where the build- 
ing was to be erected. This done, one stage of the plant- 
ing of the College was completed. 

Posterity must not only reverence the spirit of the 
founders of Western College, but must also hold their 
judgment in high esteem when the whole situation is 
looked at through their eyes and from their point of view. 
The hopes built upon the advantages of the location 
chosen may be seen from the following, taken from the 
second issue of the Western College Advocate, dated 
August, 1856: 

"No city, town, or village in Iowa can boast of a finer 
surrounding agricultural region than Western College. 
This in itself is sufficient to build up a prosperous and 
thriving village; and the large bodies of fine timber, so 
convenient to the town, will bear us out in the opinion 

28 



Some Preliminary Steps 

that this must, eventually, be one of the wealthiest farm- 
ing communities in the State. Its location, on nearly a 
direct line between the thriving towns of Iowa City and 
Cedar Rapids, is another great advantage to the College. 
To Iowa City there is a railroad in successful operation ; 
by next year there will be one, if not two, railroads com- 
pleted to Cedar Rapids from the east. It seems to be a 
settled point that Iowa City and Cedar Rapids, at no 
distant day, will be connected by railroad, and there is a 
strong probability that Western College will be a point 
on that connection. To Iowa City there is a good wagon 
road through Shueyville, Robert's Ferry, North Bend, 
and Clark's Mills ; and a more direct road is now in con- 
templation to Cedar Rapids. 

''The material for manufacturing a superior quality 
of brick is convenient, and stone for lime kilns can be 
had in great abundance. In the grove south of the 
College, Henderson, Howard, and Myers have in success- 
ful operation one of the best saw mills in the country; 
they are now connecting with it a flouring mill. In the 
same grove is Foremaster's mill, which turns out large 
quantities of fine lumber. At Shueyville, close by, 
Evans, Shuey and Company are erecting mills for the 
manufacture of lumber and flour. Hoosier Branch on 
the north and Shuey's Branch on the south furnish fresh, 
pure water for stock, and our wells furnish good, cold 
water for man. 

"To the enterprising farmer and mechanic our town 
and vicinity offer rare inducements. Lands, improved 
and unimproved, can be bought on reasonable terms. 
Mechanics of all kinds are much in demand here. A 
rich reward will most certainly crown their honest toil. 

"We do not think that a better location for a college 
could have been selected than this; and we do hope the 

29 



IV est em — Leander-Clark College 

indenture shall be void and without effect and with all 
singular to fall back into the hands of the grantor of the 
deed, otherwise to be of full force and virtue.' " 

July, 1857: "There are now forty buildings in the 
place, with a population of about three hundred. It is 
only about one year since the town commenced building." 

In the meantime the resident agent and the Executive 
Committee, under instructions from the Board, were push- 
ing the work of erecting a building in which to open 
school. It had been decided that the first to be erected 
should be the Primary Building, a brick structure 36 by 
62 feet, and three stories high. Actual work on the 
building was begun in June, 1856. The first load of 
brick was hauled by Robert Shuey. Leonard Hill had 
charge of the mason and brick work, and J. Berger of the 
carpenter work. It was hoped to have the building ready 
for opening school in the late rautumn, but unavoidable 
delays prolonged the work, and then a winter of great 
severity set in early, and at one time led even the stout- 
hearted almost to despair of being able to open school 
with the new year. However, by dint of persistent labor 
and no little expense, the work was so far advanced that 
the triumphant announcement could be made that school 
would open January 1, 1857. 

The Cedar Valley Times, published at Cedar Rapids, 
gives the following excellent description of the College, 
the town, and the surrounding country : 

"A few days since we stood upon the top of the College 
building — a large three-story brick — and looked down 
upon a village of forty-three dwelling houses and more 
tlian three hundred inhabitants. It stands in a yard 
containing seventeen acres, and is designed eventually for 
the Primary Department, but until the other buildings 

32 




PROFESSOR SYLVESTER S. DILLMAN, A.M. 
First Professor of Mathematics in Western College, 1857 to 1860. 




MRS. EMILY L. DILLMAN 
First Lady Principal of Western College, 



Some Preliminary Steps 

are erected, this will be used for the College proper. It 
is built of brick, in a plain, neat style, and everything 
about it indicates that the workmen thoroughly under- 
stood their business. The first story is occupied by four 
recitation rooms, each eighteen by twenty-two feet, a 
library, and a room for apparatus. The whole of the 
second story is taken up by a very pleasant chapel, which 
can comfortably seat five hundred persons. It is used 
for religious service on Sabbath. The fact that it is 
generally filled on these occasions speaks well for the 
morals of the town and the community. The third story 
is occupied by twelve students' rooms. It is designed 
next summer to build a ladies' boarding hall of the same 
dimensions as the building just described, and a year 
from next summer the main College building, which is 
to be fifty by eighty feet. The project of making the 
place an educational center now seems likely to realize the 
most sanguine expectations of its friends. The second 
college season opens to-day (August 20), at which time 
a great number of students are expected. Besides a large 
amount of town property, the College corporation owns a 
valuable tract adjoining the plat, which is intended for 
the College farm, as the manual labor system is to be 
adopted. No small share of the success thus far is 
due to the untiring energy and zeal of the president of 
the corporation, Rev. S. Weaver. 

"The top of the College building affords one of the 
most glorious views of prairie scenery it has ever been 
our lot to witness. To the westward and the northward, 
almost as far as the eye could reach, is the magnificent, 
rich, wild prairie, stretching away into an endless expanse, 
but for the low, blue outline of the forest belts of the 
Cedar and Iowa rivers. In the other directions the 

33 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

country is more broken by low lines of hills or ridges, 
running north and south, and the landscape is varied by 
numerous groves and forests which limit the view. 
One of the finest and most interesting features of this 
beautiful scenery was a field of nine hundred acres of 
wheat and corn belonging to Mr. Shuey. We believe 
many an eastern farmer would feel himself well paid 
for a journey to Iowa by such a view as this. 

"The Iowa Union Railroad, from Iowa City to Cedar 
Rapids, will pass through Western, giving the place a 
good market and making it convenient of access. The 
preliminary survey of this road was completed about a 
month ago. It will undoubtedly be built, and at no 
distant day. 

"No one expects or predicts that Western will ever be- 
come a large city, but with the superior educational ad- 
vantages she already possesses, her intelligent, go-ahead 
class of citizens, the splendid surrounding country, which 
is rapidly settling up, and a good prospect of railroad 
communication, she cannot fail to become a large, flour- 
ishing country town." 

In the month of June, W. H. Shuey and Solomon 
Weaver associated themselves together for the purpose 
of publishing a monthly magazine in the interests of 
Western College, they assuming all responsibility for the 
publication. In the initial number, published in July, 
1856, the editors make the following manly statements 
of their motives and aims : 

"Before the reading public we place the first number 
of the Western College Advocate and Miscellaneous 
Magazine, and in asking for our enterprise a small share 
of its generous patronage and good wishes, it may be 
proper for us to say a few words by way of introduction. 

34 



Some Preliminary Steps 

**At the last session of the Iowa Annual Conference 
of the United Brethren in Christ measures were taken 
to establish, near or within the limits of that Conference, 
an institution of learning. A Board of Trustees was 
appointed and Western College has been located at West- 
ern, Linn County, Iowa. As to the progress that has 
already been made toward building up a college that will 
be an honor to the Church and meet fully the wants of 
this age of scientific and educational progress and reform, 
reference is made in one or two articles in this issue. 

"Although there is every reason for the friends of the 
College to rejoice at the success that has already crowned 
the efforts made in its behalf, yet much remains to be 
done. An organ through which to speak to the friends 
of the institution, seems to be absolutely necessary; its 
speedy completion should be the desire of all its well 
wishers, but to do this will require a strong, a mighty 
effort. In the Advocate we propose to furnish the organ 
desired, and when we ask for support, it is not through 
any motives of personal pecuniary profit ; we pledge our- 
selves to give the net proceeds to the enterprise as an 
appropriation to a college library. Our readers now 
have a brief statement of the circumstances that have 
induced us to assume the responsibility of an editorial 
capacity. 

"As to the character we intend to give our sheet, our 
readers may form some general opinions from the cir- 
cumstances that induce us to go into the enterprise, and 
from the issue before them. We do not deem it neces- 
sary to make any promises. To gratify the virtuous 
tastes of our readers, and to present to them a readable 
magazine, scrupulously moral in its tone, shall be our 
aim." 

35 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

The publication was in magazine form, and filled with 
selected readings, original contributions, news notes, and 
editorials. Both in mechanical makeup and in subject 
matter the magazine was not only a credit to early days, 
but would compare favorably with many college publica- 
tions of to-day. The excellence of the magazine demands 
the greater admiration when it is learned that the editors 
received no remuneration except the satisfaction of con- 
tributing to a worthy cause, and that both were overbur- 
dened with other duties, Mr. Shuey being so immersed in 
business that he could give little attention to the Advocate, 
and Mr. Weaver being president of the Board, and later 
of the College, resident agent, and business manager of 
the College, member of the Executive Committee, besides 
caring for a large presiding elder's district in a new 
country. He has intimated that his editorial duties were 
performed when the multitude was hushed in sleep; 
that then with weary limb and mind he seated himself 
beside the dim taper to force out a few reluctant thoughts. 

One year after the Advocate was started, the Board, at 
its first annual session in June, 1857, took over the con- 
trol of the magazine and made it the official organ of the 
College, retaining, however, the same editors as before. 
This arrangement continued until 1859, at which time the 
College bought a press, changed the name of the paper 
to the Western College Reporter, and the form to a news- 
paper folio. 

At a meeting of the Board, held in July, 1856, Solomon 
Weaver was appointed a delegate to the Des Moines 
Conference to solicit it to cooperate with Western College. 
Mr. Weaver visited the conference, in session at Polk 
City, and secured its cooperation. A few passages from 
his report will be of interest, especially that part which 

Z6 



Some Preliminary Steps 

shows how narrowly the Church escaped having two 
rival colleges in Iowa. 

"There is considerable talk about building a college in 
Polk City, yet we believe that if the impropriety of build- 
ing up such a host of one-horse, half-starved schools is 
properly presented that this conference will most heartily 
cooperate with the Iowa Conference in building up a 
school that will be an ornament to the church of our 
choice. A resolution passed the house setting apart Fri- 
day, three o'clock, to consider their educational interests. 

''Thursday afternoon. The idea of building a college 
in this place is still fondly cherished by a number of the 
brethren. Mr. Bennet, M. D., though not a member of 
the Brethren Church, has made the brethren a liberal 
offer, provided they would locate their college there. 

"Thursday evening. Brother Manning preached a 
clear and practical discourse. He very appropriately 
gave the peculiar institution a broadside, as he passed 
along, but none too broad we think. 

"Friday, three o'clock. A resolution to cooperate with 
the Iowa Annual Conference in building a college at 
Western, Linn County, Iowa, was offered by Brothers 
Dencops and Eckles, and discussed by Brothers Shuler, 
Carr, Harcourt, Glossbrenner, and myself, on the affirma- 
tive, and Doctor Bennet, Brothers Hopkins, and Brooks, 
on the negative ; after which the question was called for, 
and, when put, the conference almost unanimously passed 
the resolution. 

"The following brethren were then elected trustees for 
Western College: J. Hopkins, H. Bonebrake, G. Bone- 
brake, C. Witt, A. A. Sellers. 

"The Board of Trustees organized by acquiescing with 
the Iowa Annual Conference in the election of S. Weaver, 

37 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

president of the Board and resident agent, and W. R. 
Miller, secretary. R. Logan was elected traveling agent." 

Rock River Conference came into cooperation soon 
after, followed some time later by Minnesota, and still 
later by Wisconsin. 

The next meeting of the Board, the first in which the 
Des Moines Conference participated, was held at West- 
ern, October 9, 1856. At this session, Solomon Weaver 
was elected president of the College, and the Executive 
Committee and the resident agent were instructed to em- 
ploy a competent teacher and open the school as soon as 
a part of the building could be made ready for the 
purpose. So far as the Board was concerned, this ended 
the preliminary stages of its work; when next it met it 
was in the first annual session, June, 1857, at the close 
of the first term of actual school work. 

In the December issue of the Western College Advo- 
cate appears the following announcement and statement 
of rules, all most interesting, both as showing the condi- 
tion of the time, and proving that the fathers took the 
undertaking very seriously: 

"The first session of the school commences at Western, 
January 1, 1857, and will continue until some time in 
June. Students are requested to be present, if possible, 
at the opening of the session. They can be received at 
any time afterwards, yet it is desirable for them to be 
present in the commencement. 

"Note — This session will be longer than an ordinary 
one. 

"sessions and vacations. 

"The collegiate year will be divided into two sessions, 
each twenty weeks in length. The regular time for com- 
mencing sessions, etc., will be determined by the faculty 

38 



Some Preliminary Steps 

and Executive Committee immediately after the organi- 
zation of the former. 

"expenses. 
Tuition, per session — Geography, EngHsh Gram- 
mar, and Arithmetic $ 7.00 

Higher Branches, inchiding Mathematics and 

Natural Science 10.00 

Languages and Mental and Moral Science 12.00 

Boarding, per week, including room rent, fuel, 

etc 2.50 

"Young ladies and gentlemen are respectfully solicited 
to avail themselves of the privileges of Western College. 
"Note. — Text-books can be had at the institution. 
"Tuition invariably in advance, unless special arrange- 
ments are made with the agent. No deduction will be 
made for absence, except in case of protracted sickness. 

"rules. 

"The students of this institution are expected to observe 
the following rules: 1. To be diligent in study, punctual 
and prompt at prayers and recitations and not to leave 
town during the term, unless for a short walk or ride for 
recreation, without permission from some member of the 
faculty. 

"2. To use no profane or unbecoming language; to 
abstain from all games of chance, the carrying of arms, 
and the use of intoxicating liquors ; to conduct themselves 
orderly on all occasions; and to be kind and obliging, 
one toward another. 

"3. To be present at their rooms at night, unless 
absent at religious meetings, or some other meeting ap- 
proved by the faculty; and then not to be absent later 
than ten o'clock. 

39 



Western' — Leander-Clark College 

"4. To observe the Sabbath and attend church in the 
College Chapel every Sabbath at such times as the Board 
of Trustees and faculty may, from time to time, direct. 
It is also required that the students attend all lectures 
designed for the general interest of the College. 

"5. At no time to engage in scuffling, running, jump- 
ing, or hallooing in the halls of the building. 

"6. Not to throw dirt, or ashes, or water from the 
windows ; not to spit tobacco spittle upon the floors ; not 
to mark the walls, nor in any way injure the property of 
the University. 

"7. Not unnecessarily to visit each other's rooms dur- 
ing study, or in any way disturb students when studying. 

"8. The sexes not to visit each other's rooms or halls 
in any case whatever. 

"9. Ladies not to receive the visits of young gentle- 
men, nor go into company without special permission. 

"Study hours from 5 to 7, and from half past 8 to 
half past 11 a.m. ; and from 1 to 4, and from 7 to 9 p.m. 

"Some oral rules may, from time to time, be given to 
the students. These will be considered as binding as 
written or printed ones." 



40 



Chapter III. 

OPENING DAY AT WESTERN. SMALL BEGINNINGS. 
FIRST "exhibition." MANUAL LABOR. SOCIAL AND 
RELIGIOUS LIFE. 

New Year's Day, 1857, was a red-letter day for the 
United Brethren Church in Iowa in general and in par- 
ticular for the two or three hundred, who, as a Pilgrim 
band seeking a promised land, had already established 
themselves in, and near Western. The long looked-for 
day had come, their dreams had become realities, the 
opening day of college had actually arrived. What cared 
they that a winter of unusual severity was upon them 
with some of the most sweeping snow storms ever ex- 
perienced on those prairies. From every direction they 
came for the opening exercises — from Western, from 
Shueyville, from the prairies — all Jerusalem, all Judea, 
and all the region round about Jordan. There was not 
wanting the inspiration of music. The Shueyville Band 
— that necessity in a frontier community — was present in 
force and did the occasion justice. The Western Choir — 
fitting prophecy of the musical 'culture to center here — 
"frequently regaled us by appropriate airs and songs." 
Several addresses were delivered, the principal one being 
by President Weaver. This address so pleased the people 
that at its close the following resolution was offered and 
heartily passed : 

''Resolved, That we, the citizens of this community, 
earnestly solicit Rev. S. Weaver to publish the address to 
which we have just listened in the Western College 
Advocate." 

41 



opening Day at Western 

As a tribute to the man and to the occasion and spirit 
in which the College began its life, that address is worthy 
of a place in this history; consequently we give the open- 
ing portion as it appeared in the Advocate of January, 
1857. 

"Ladies and Gentlemen : For the last several months 
we looked forward to this day with great anxiety. With 
thrilling interest we watched our faithful masons handling 
the trowel and the brick. Every course laid up by them 
was a source of encouragement to us. With equal inter- 
est have we watched every progressive step of our untir- 
ing carpenters. 

"At length we are permitted to see this capacious 
edifice enclosed and the work almost completed. Greater 
harmony, perhaps, never prevailed among workmen and 
employers than among us. Not a single jarring string 
has been heard; one heart and one aim has prevailed 
throughout. 

"True, we, like all others engaged in enterprises of a 
benevolent and philanthropic character, have waded 
through many discouragements. Difficulties and dis- 
heartening circumstances have crowded upon us all along 
the way, yet God, in whom we trust, has not suffered us 
to sink. 

"A short time since, dark clouds overspread our moral 
horizon, wickedness prevailed predominant, our strongest 
men grew weak, the very heavens appeared like brass. 
Then we were ready to say, 'Lord, we cannot go unless 
thou go with us' ; but at this crisis the Lord favored us 
with a general outpouring of his spirit. Scarcely a lady 
or gentleman of the place escaped the overpowering in- 
fluence of the spirit of God. This possessed us with new 
courage; we could most clearly see the hand of the Lord 

42 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

in the work. Since that time, until now, we have gone 
forward with buoyant spirits, prosecuting the work as- 
signed us. 

"In looking at our present condition it would be im- 
possible for us to tell what we may be in the future. It 
is certain, however, that as long as we labor, trusting in 
God, the work will go forward; but to depart from this 
is to die. 

"Our success thus far, in view of the circumstances, 
is almost unparalleled ; our most sanguine hopes have 
been more than realized. 

"But a few months since the Board met in Shueyville, 
and then and there determined to commence the erection 
of an institution of learning on this beautiful prairie, 
though without one dollar in the treasury. Then that 
old, wind-shaken house, now occupied by the speaker, was 
the only house within the precincts of the village plat. 
Not a single brick was moulded toward the erection of 
this building ; all was in embryo. But with a firm reliance 
upon God the Board resolved to commence the work. 
Since then a beautiful little village of some two hundred 
inhabitants has grown up, and this building, at a cost of 
nearly eleven thousand dollars, has been erected. It is 
true that a part of the money invested in this building 
was secured by loan, yet, notwithstanding this, every 
claim against this school can be easily met by next sum- 
mer, after which the actual value of the school property 
will be not less than thirty thousand dollars. 

"But the erection of buildings is only a preparatory 
step toward the great work before us. The training and 
developing of immortal minds for usefulness is the prin- 
cipal object aimed at. Should we fail in this, even after 
we succeed in erecting splendid buildings, furnishing 

43 



opening Day at Western 

them with fine apparatus, and adding to this, a learned 
facuhy, all our efforts would be lost. The student 
generally enters college at an age when the mind is 
more susceptible of receiving instruction and adopting 
principles than at any other period of human life ; hence, 
the impressions made upon the mind at college usually 
follow him through life." 

The faculty for the first term consisted of Rev. Solo- 
mon Weaver, president (he, however, did no teaching, 
except a Bible class on Monday) ; Sylvester S. Dillman, 
principal of the Male Department; J. C. Shrader, assist- 
ant; and Emily L. Dillman, principal of the Female 
Department. 

Thirty-eight students were enrolled in the regular 
classes, mainly in the common school branches. In addi- 
tion, twenty children were taught in the College building, 
presumably by the College teachers, a temporary provision 
brought about by the fact that Western did not yet have 
a public school, and by the peculiarly intimate, almost 
organic, relation existing between College and town. 
These were small beginnings, to be sure, but many great 
institutions have sprung from conditions quite as humble. 

An editorial in the Advocate, dated March, 1857, 
showed the hopeful spirit in which the little community 
looked upon the progress of her undertaking. Two items 
of special interest are : The ever-elusive hope of a rail- 
road in the near future, and the assuring reference to the 
College farm with its possibilities for student labor. 

"Since the weather has become moderate, it is all stir 
among our citizens. Our mechanics have whetted their 
tools and the welcome sound of the hammer is again 
heard throughout the village. Teamsters have hitched 
to their rolling vehicles instead of their sliding ones, 

44 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

and there is more talk about putting up houses, fencing 
lots, etc., than there is about Buchanan and Fremont. 

"Present prospects indicate extensive improvements in 
our town this season. We predict that not less than fifty 
buildings will be erected this year, and many of them 
superior in style and size to any of their predecessors. 
Our friends are coming in from every direction. This 
is as it should be. It is to their interest to come. A more 
beautiful and healthful location can not be found on this 
side of the Rocky Mountains ; and as to the quality of the 
soil, it cannot be surpassed. It is just as good as any 
man need desire. Our citizens are sanguine in the 
opinion that in less than two years our ears will be saluted 
by the whistle of the iron horse. Stock is now being 
taken up for the Iowa Union Railroad, which, when 
built, must pass through our place, as it is on the direct 
route from Iowa City to Cedar Rapids. 

"Our College is now in sucessful operation, affording 
rare facilities for educating our youth, and will be greatly 
improved the present season. 

"The plan upon which our village is laid out offers in- 
ducements to persons wishing to come here with families. 
Lots containing one or more acres can be had on good 
terms. These lots are adapted to private residences. 
As the education of our sons and daughters is a great 
part of the work of the parent, we think it would be to 
the interest of our friends to crowd around this school 
and liberally educate their children and assist us by their 
means and influence in building up an institution that, 
in the true sense of the word, will be a nursery of piety 
and a blessing to our race. Our friends who are accus- 
tomed to daily labor, and desire to rear their children to 
habits of industry, need entertain no fears in this direc- 

45 



opening Day at Western 

tion, for we are as well convinced of the importance of 
manual labor, in order -to .the student's well-being, as you 
possibly can be ; and, in order to do this, we are now 
engaged in enclosing a farm of one hundred and sixty 
acres, eighty of which will be cultivated the present sum- 
mer, commencing the first of April. This will afford a 
considerable amount of labor for the students, nearly as 
much, perhaps, as will be necessary for them to do." 

At the end of the first term of school, in lieu of com- 
mencement exercises, the College gave what is called an 
"Exhibition." As this was the first public exercise pre- 
sented by the school itself, the Advocate's account of the 
occasion will be read with interest. It will be noted that 
even then a play was part of the closing exercises. 

"The Exhibition of Western College, which took place 
on the last evening of the closing exercises of the first 
session, was of an interesting character and did credit 
to the students of the school. 

"Essays were read in the following order: 'Female 
Education,' Miss V. H. Perry, Western; Tombs,' Miss 
Orrel M. HoUan, Cedar Rapids; 'Memories of Child- 
hood,' Miss E. S. DeMoss, Western. The orations were: 
'Responsibilities of Youth,' J. T. Aleman, Western ; 'Edu- 
cation,' Isaac Berger, Western ; 'Power of Thought,' Wm. 
O. Beam, Western ; 'Progressive Spirit of Our Country,' 
A. C. Weaver, Western; and 'Time,' S. R. Pearce, 
Providence, R. I. 

"The twenty-two characters in the colloquy — 'The 
Miser's Reform' — were most appropriately personified by 
the young ladies and gentlemen who participated. 

"The largest concourse of people that ever assembled 
on any occasion in this community was perfectly en- 
raptured with the performance of the Western Choir. 

46 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

*'We think the large concourse of people present dis- 
persed with very favorable opinions of the success of 
the first session of the College, and we hope they will 
have the privilege, in the progress of the school, to witness 
many such occasions." 

Similar "exhibitions" seem to have been given at the 
close of each year until real commencement exercises 
could be given with the graduates of the first class, in 
June, 1864. 

Through the thoughtfulness of Mr. T. G. Smith, of 
Huntington, Indiana, who preserved his program of the 
"Exhibition" given at the close of the first full year, we 
are able to give our readers a facsimile of that document, 
as shown on page 49. 

The first years of the College were years of sturdy 
and steady growth. Students came in increasing numbers, 
some of them men and women of rare talent. The 
friends of the College were active and full of hope. The 
teachers were conscientious men and women with high 
standards of scholarship and lofty ideals of their calling. 
As a consequence the College soon found itself with a 
wide-spread and well-deserved reputation. In the spring 
of 1859 the enrollment reached one hundred and twenty, 
a high-water mark maintained until the breaking out of 
the Civil War threatened to close the institution alto- 
gether. 

Advertisements (of which a facsimile is presented on 
the following page) issued during the summer vacation 
of 1857 will show that the teaching force was being 
enlarged, and that an effort was being made to differen- 
tiate the work of the departments of the College. Later 
in the year, M. W. Bartlett was secured as professor of 
Latin and Greek. 

47 



Western — Leander Clark College 



RESIDENT AGENT'S DEPARTMENT 



^n^JirovjrcEjrEjTT Fon time p^ul ^jrn u^ijitter terjv. 



Tlie next Se<«ian «l tliU CoUege will opmon 

THURSDAY, A.XJGUST 20, 1857, 

AND iriLL COXTIN'fE IX SESSION TWENTY WEEKS. 
••* 

RATES OF TUITION AND OTHER EXPENSES. 

Primary Engll'li liranclii;*, ix-r Session _^ T.Od 

Hifher Fn;(lish hranches, p^r 8e«BioD„ „ „ 10.00 

l^alin anil Orcek L.in£uage«, per Session - _. 14.09 

Boam!ngp<'r wock _ from $i.00 <o 2.23 

Boom rent in College Building, p«r moiHU....... ;.... — _ OO.T} 

Koemii In the Colleje RnlKIIng nre farnlafaed with bedEtead, tabic, itove, acd cbairm but d« bedding. Stad«o<( 
can obtain rObii:< entirely furni>hed io private famUiei. 

■ *♦* 

FACILITIES FOR INSTRUCTION. 

Prar. S. S. niT.I.MAN uill give iattrnctlon Id MiTiti Mines, and vfll aI<o g<v« a ceurw of Leetarea •« 
CiiKMiiiTKY during the Tirst h«ir of the Term. 

^fror. W. PAUEU.MENT, M. !>., will give a courte ql Lecturea od A.VATOirr aod rorsioiocY duflftt^k* latt 
half 01 the Tcnii. 

A PraraiiMar of I.aasnaseft *!n give instmctloa in ibe'I.a<in and Greek Lapgnapec. (No Professor' of Lmi> 
foagea baa t«fD (.oaitlrely engaged up lo t)ie tiin* wr go to | ttrr. lut eveiy effiut i> being made to cccora • ««■>• 
ii«tent oiao tor tliat department br Ihe opening of Ihe next terra, ftaoold no ProfesKir b« o<i(iifi«d. Protnten 
^it^lAX aod Pakiik.\tcr u ill ahare the recitations of that De[«rlmrDt.) 

Mr. Ijl. !{. fE.VKCE will give iusfruction in PIiiioaDdOrnamrr:talPf5UjtN'5nir,BoozR£ErtNGaodUcrs*>tCAL 

DlUwrsra. 

Sir* J.4l'. $HR ADER will give Instrnctioji in Oeociui'UV nnd ilic PkisaM' CK.t.vcHcs. 

FEMALE DEPARTMENT. 

MrM. eMII>Y A. UILI.MA.N, frinclpiU. | Mm. H. B. PABBtENTER, AtOmnt. 

Laiiien will reritc In the i*me cl&ssee as gcnilemen nben pursuicg tht taioe tta^^eu- XiWUea trvoLabntA wUB be * 
fu.-iiiilied with con:fort«tile boarding placm iu private bmilin. 

I «•»■ — — 

APPARATUS. 

Tte Cefifcc ia furjiblird <• UJi an csteiiaive aaiptVef Cbe&icaf ApMiWn* ■Rd CAeiitrcal^, wb'ich, togctter wfiii 
tha arproprtatiaD r«c*ntlv made, wUfWard ample meaiia for UIoafraliOBr Id Chemistry. 
Tb« IXparlioenI vf An'siomy and I'hjelology will be furnlibed vUb a Eke'.eton, Cbari^ctc. 

MANUAL LAJ5 0R. 

Tbe ManixJ LabohMfato hsa not been fullr matured.. Aryat»MmenU wilt, hoverer, be made (o° ntpply ftoilccta 
w Uk kib«r iSiviog iberaUmootb^ CoofiOerable lebac.itUl olaolie fortiished during Ota Winter uootb*. 

DESIGN OF THE INSTITUTION. 

Thia InititalioD ha« been la nperatien one MMion, and though of recKr.t origin. It !< twOered U will, hr ibe 
rptniDg of the iMtt Eenaiop; tfStrd (arilities for hiFtruction equal to any C^lCpg* ia-tfie Stidft/ l^e 1>iutrea and 
ncuity arc-detnmlMd to apcie-no p^na or expense to Uiild up a tir*t dan Callege. . 

' AN(idar«(ran>eor atudy w41lbead«pl«dby the opt'iiiugof wxttern^asd Coljeaa flaataaarranirrd ta room aa 
Ua waatf oi tbe ivMitutien tsay demand tbem. S. WH-W^B, B«aI4cW AacM. 



48 



%'■ 




J .^i 




PROFESSOR M. W. BARTLETT, A.M. 
Professor in Western College from 1858 to 1867 and Acting President one year. 




W. T. JACKSON, Ph.D. 
First Classical Graduate of Western Col- 
lege, 1864. 



MRS. S. J. STAVES 
Early Student at Western : Instrumental 
in securing the Memorial Tablet to West- 
ern's Soldier Boys. 




E. R. SMITH, M.D. 
Member of the Executive Committee ever 
since the College came to Toledo in 1881. 



HON. W. F. JOHNSTON 
Member of the Executive Committee for 
thirty years since 1881. 



i^\^^\ 





ANNUAL EXHIBITION 
J 

ORDER OF EXERCISES; 

MUSIC. PRAVER, MUSIC. 



ESSAYS: 



Moroing, Noon and Night, 
Tho Present Age 



..Ml., t. .\. (-.H-k. WvHlcni. 

. M,r» ^:..r. \j\«vcr, vv.,t.r... 



MUSIC. 

Life's Spring, Mi-i.J. l'.O...u«>. \Vi-«tii<^ 

MuuiC, Mj»k C. -.\. tt'Mkvr. Bdiiiitr Vnlky. 

Reality Of Life. Mw t- J- 'Si'faJ'"'. Ohio. 

orations: 

Plea for I he Bible, ... ...iW.IC;. McCiuioii, X.» York. 

Sell' B.steeiu T. O. Smith, Indian*. 

No Man without influence, ... ' B. F. Bii-in>, Wwtcni- 



^MmtMim: 



The Present Condition of Our Countrjr, K B .Soix-r, Jonci C». 
Mystories of Nature, C Hijr)choldoi-,Ci"diii U»pids. 

Catholicism. ' ^' f Wnjrer. t\',!rti.rn. 



»IXTSIO. 



Keligton tin Chief Concern of Moh, 
The Tfc>vili,a)ul iho South." 



i>. B. B..bb. Ill>< 

I I «l„l..v IJ 



MUSIC. 



DISCXTSSIOJN' . 
liesoivcU That Iho tendencies of our Qovernnieiit ore -tc- 



1 ..,!), 1 Il-l. l-.ll. ;-.\. 



ilVli^ilC;. 

• •<' 
COI. LOQI' V. 



OHARACTEI 

.. 111.. Mwl,;...! 

•• i Kr, 1- ••! A..I ., 



CHARACTERS REPRESENTED. 

thikviif \V<>«'< I' ^ Itivina. 

.Virtoiii''. It"- >t<-T«l'f""' ^^ f ilcfaiii'ii. 

Oroilimo, f .., ..... ... 1.,..,. ^ |i..u(.'b- 

iSabrinn. ) K W . Ki— 

Sliyjiik. Tl«- Jr* . W. I). Biiv> I 

l-dhis. TlKa).c»i.r..f I..-.. , «' W.t'edefti.k 

V«rt>«i;,Tlu' Uxliu-V t'k'fk T. (i. Htii:i'< 

(M.-rk of tlK- ('."in. U. V OHiliil 
.tr..nileiiu 



i 






Musir 



(!r.NLl>J[CTfON 



? j/^^l, 



49 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

As has already been intimated, the founders of the 
College undertook at the very beginning to incorporate a 
manual labor system as an organic part of their institu- 
tion "of equal importance with the other departments of 
the school." In that day manual labor departments seem 
to have been thought by the founders of colleges a 
necessary provision, not as in the present day to train 
young people for intelligent success in agriculture, me- 
chanic arts, or domestic science, but to furnish the sys- 
tematic exercise necessary for the health of the students, 
and, above all, to counteract that supposed tendency of 
college education to make young men haughty and indo- 
lent. For a vigorous statement of the hopes and fears 
entertained by the advocates of the movement nothing 
could be better than the following page from the resident 
agent's department, taken from the Western College 
Advocate for August, 1857. (See page 51.) 

In addition to the 160-acre farm mentioned in the 
agent's statement, the College laid out a nursery on the 
edge of its town tract, and for many years seems to have 
conducted a good business in all kinds of nursery stock. 
The farm, merely as a farm enterprise, seems to have 
been reasonably profitable during the five years that the 
College operated it, but it sadly disappointed the hopes 
of those who strove so earnestly to make farm work a 
constituent part of the College course. No doubt the 
failure of the plan was inherent in the plan itself; it was 
an attempt to impose an artificial condition on student 
life. True, students were paid for their labor, but not 
many students find it either congenial or profitable to 
drop school work for several hours each day in order to 
work on a farm a mile away — and walking bad at that. 
The experiment was kept up for five years and then 
abandoned, and the farm was sold at a very low price. 

50 



opening Day at Western 
RESIDENT AGENT'S DEPARTMENT. 



Manttal Labor Collkges have been pronounced by high authority one of the 
humbugs of the age ; by some they are classed with the exploded humbugs ; and there 
is enough in the history of Western colleges to justify these opinions. Very few in- 
stitutions of learning have been established, within the last thirty years, west of the 
Alleghanies, that have not at their commencement claimed to bo manual labor schools- 
and, yet, wo do not know of a single college in successful operation, that can, in any 
true sense of the terra, bo called &. Manttal Labor College. These are facts* and 
these facts were staring the founders of Western College in the face when they decided 
that manual labor should be connected with this institution. It may then be interest- 
ing to the friends of this enterprise to learn what stops have already been "taken, and 
what plan is proposed for the future to avoid what seems to have been the inevitable 
fate of our predecessois in attempting to connect labor with study. 

1st. We have a farm of one hundred and sixty acres of most .excellent land under 
fence — one hundred and twenty is broken up, and will bo croped next summer. The 
The soil of this farm is a rich sandy muck, from three to four feet deep» with a clay 
subsoil, and possesses every natural facility for making a first class" farm at a compara- 
tively small expense. 

2d. A Professor of Agriculture and Agricultural Chemistry has becmeniDtoyed, who 
will live on the farm, and give his undivided attention to it and to ttsHafEtog the col- 
lateral branches of Botany and Geology. It is" designed lo make Ihe-jaf m a model 
farm — to conduct it in a systematic manner, and to make it tot mcE^y^i.placo where 
students will be furnished work to eke out a subsistence, but where tBey will be taught 
both the theory and practice of scientific agriculture. While it is not proposed' to 
make this an experimental farm, some attention will be given to testing the advantages 
of diflfcrent relation of crops — the comparative value of the various manures, both 
organic and inorganic, to different-crops — the best manner of applying fertilizers, and 
so forth; and students will be particularly instructed in the best methods of conduct- 
ing farm experiments so as to make them profitable, and to aid in perfecting a Science 
of Agriculture. 

3d. An Analytical Laboratory will be connected with the farm where students, can 
be taught Analytic Chemistry, and especially the application of Chemistry to Agricul- 
ture. It is not expected that all or oven a majority of our students will become 
analytic chemists, but all will be taught so much of chemistry as to bo able to make an 
intelligent use of chemical analyses, and to comprehend the principles which affect 
his daily life and business. 

4th. Students will be required to labor just as much as they will be req^uired to 
study, and delinquencies in labor will be as much subjects for discipline as delinquencies 
in study. The Professor of Agriculture will hold students to as strict an account 
for failure to attend to the prescribed duties of his department, as will the Professor 
of any other department. 

Lastly — All connected with the College must work. No Professor or Teach«r will 
be employed in any department, who is unwilling to wort, and who does not worJr«. 
The theory that it is advantageous for stti'dents to labor to promote physical health, 
and thereby sharpen his mental powers, is just as applicable to the teacher, and tnll 
be treated accOl-dingly. In short, it is intended to give to the -manual labor deparb 
ment sucih a prominence a<J to secure its success. 

Such is a rough outline of the plan proposed by the Committee appointed to tak© 
into consideration the interest of the Manual L^.bor Department. And to show that 
they are in earnest they have appointed Prof. S. S. Diiaman to take charge of thifi»' 
department. Prof. Dilllan brings to this department the experience of a practical 
man and the skill of an analytic chemist. And he has entered on his Work with a 
determination that it ihaU succeed, that manual labor in thoory shall be reduced to 
manual labor in jiractice. 

S. WEAVER, Resident Jget?t. 



51 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

Some time later the nursery stock was closed out, and the 
College ceased to furnish labor for its students. 

The social and religious life of the student community 
partook of the simplicity and earnestness to be expected 
among a serious-minded frontier people. Where none 
had wealth or knew the taste of luxury there was no dis- 
play of dress or in manner of living. Had other things 
been favorable, external conditions would have militated 
against fastidiousness in dress. Students of those old 
days speak of Western as the muddiest town they ever 
saw, especially in early spring after one of those severe 
winters, common in the early days. A boy who walked 
from Shueyville, or from a prairie farm, came in coarse 
boots with clothes to match, wiped off what mud he could 
and carried the remainder into the classroom. No 
doubt a touch of wholesome rudeness showed at times 
among the boys, but they were withal a royal-hearted 
band whose bit of nonsense now and then was relished all 
the more because it was so rare. Young people had their 
sports and social gatherings then as now, but their sports 
were more spontaneous and required less grinding train- 
ing than is required by specialized modern athletics, and 
social life among the young was less feverish than now. 

If the printed rules and regulations are any criterion, 
the social life of young lady students must have been 
somewhat restricted and altogether proper, and the d-e- 
portment of young men orderly and circumspect. The 
nine rules promulgated before school was opened had, 
under the test of practical application, grown to nineteen. 
"Ladies not to receive the visits of young gentlemen, or to 
go into company without special permission," still held its 
place of prominence, to which was added, applicable to 
all students alike, "To attend no meetings whatever, 

52 



opening Day at Western 

except the regular meetings approved by the facuhy, with- 
out the permission of the faculty." Such regulations 
were devised with the sincerest of motives, and the young 
people enjoyed themselves with little lack of spontaneity. 
In harmony with a long-established custom, one side of 
the chapel during church services was occupied by the 
men and the other by the women, a custom that was relig- 
iously observed until Professor Ebersole, in an effort to 
make away with set rules and outgrown traditions, and 
to secure better order during religious services, recom- 
mended to the young men a setting aside of the old 
custom. The next Sunday evening every fellow in 
school appeared with his girl and sat with her during 
the church services. 

Perhaps, however, the most characteristic and the most 
pronounced influence belonging to that part of college 
life, which has to do with finer social and spiritual in- 
stincts, was the deeply religious atmosphere that pervaded 
the early days of the College. The founders of the 
school were among the most devout and zealous men in 
all the Church ; their sole aim was to invest the education 
of the mind with the spirit of vital Christianity. " The 
parents who came wijth the founders from afar and settled 
at Western did so simply because they wanted to educate 
their children under the strongest religious influences. 
Many religious leaders gathered at Western, and many 
seasons of profoundest religious awakenings were experi- 
enced. One of the first reports sent out from the new 
community reads : "For the last two weeks the Lord has 
been graciously reviving his work in our place. There 
have been forty powerful conversions and fifty-three 
accessions to the Church. We commenced our efforts in 
an unfinished frame house, but the weather became so 

S3 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

cold that we were compelled to abandon this place, and, 
having no other visible resort, the church became dis- 
couraged. It appeared at the crisis, however, that the 
Lord put it into the hearts of our kind carpenters to lay 
down a floor in one of the recitation rooms in the primary 
building, nail up the windows, and cover the joists with 
boards, for as yet there was no roof. In this place we 
held our meetings, though sometimes annoyed by rain 
and melting snows." This, as will be seen, was before 
school opened. One of the first, if not the very first, 
organization connected with the College was a Theologi- 
cal Association, partly literary, but dominantly religious 
in purposes. The association held meetings every two 
weeks ; at one time its membership numbered forty. 
Another strong influence in the religious life of the school 
was the sincere piety of the early teachers, most of whom 
deserve fuller mention in the following chapter. 



54 



Chapter IV. 

OUR FOUNDERS. EARLY TEACHERS. EARLY STUDENTS. 

The history of any institution would lack its better 
part without the story of the personal sacrifices, tenacious 
faith, and human hopes and fears of the men and women 
who fostered the institution at its birth and gave almost 
of their heart's blood that it might live and thrive. The 
foundations of Western College were built of such lives 
and cemented with tears and prayers. 

The first to be named on this roll of honor is Rev. 
Solomon Weaver, generally conceded to have been the 
moving spirit in the founding of Western College, and 
unanimously chosen as its first president. Though less 
famous in the history of his Church than was his younger 
brother, Jonathan, long the senior bishop of the United 
Brethren Church, he yet filled so large a space in the 
religious and educational life of his day that his memory 
deserves a fuller tribute than has yet been paid, or than 
can be paid within the limits of this brief history. 

Solomon Weaver was born in western Pennsylvania 
in 1814, well down the list in a large family that ten 
years later reached a total of six sons and six daughters. 
When Solomon was still a young child the family moved 
to Ohio, then a comparatively wild country that imposed 
many hardships upon the pioneer and afforded but the 
most meager social and educational advantages for his 
children. Young Weaver's schooling was exceedingly 
limited, but he had a hungry mind and eagerly picked up 
what learning he could gather for himself. When about 
eighteen years of age he suffered from a very severe and 

55 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

protracted illness which incapacitated him for farm 
work. For about a year he was employed as a clerk in 
a store, and then for a few years engaged in business for 
himself. 

When about twenty-six years of age, Mr. Weaver was 
converted at an evening meeting held at the house of his 
father; soon after he was elected class-leader, and in 
about a year was licensed to exhort and soon afterward 
to preach. In 1845 he joined the Muskingum Annual 
Conference of the United Brethren in Christ, from which 
time until his death he was a tireless worker for the 
Church, especially in helping spread the spirit of evangel- 
ism and education westward with the increasing tide of 
immigration. As a gospel minister, he felt more keenly 
than ever the need of a better education, and took every 
occasion he could find or make to gain a knowledge of 
history, science, and literature, as well as of practical 
life, and thus became fairly well informed, even in a 
scholastic sense. In later years he accumulated a library 
of which any scholar might be proud. During the 
early years of his ministry the United Brethren Church 
was in the midst of the first determined agitation in favor 
of taking up education as a definite part of church activ- 
ity. Otterbein University was founded in 1847, just 
four years after Mr. Weaver was licensed to preach. 
Both as pastor and as presiding elder, he took a pro- 
nounced stand in favor of education, in this placing him- 
self far in advance of the Church as a whole. Owing 
to this deep interest he served for a short time as 
financial agent of Otterbein. 

How Mr. Weaver came to Iowa, in 1855, and at once 
took the lead in founding Western College, has been 
related at some length in these pages. It was he who 

56 



Our Founders 

did most of the soliciting for money and lands to bring 
the College to the Shueyville neighborhood. Though a 
poor itinerant minister among a pioneer people, he gave 
freely of his own meager income, as well as of his time 
and untiring zeal. He must have been a man of large 
capacity and unlimited energy, for, in addition to his 
duties as presiding elder of a large district, he served as 
president of the Board of Trustees and a member of the 
Executive Committee during the formative stage of the 
College; resident agent, with all the duties of business 
manager of a new enterprise, including purchase of ma- 
terial and superintendence of the erection of buildings ; 
and senior editor of the Western College Advocate. 
After the school was opened his duties were a little more 
concentrated, but not less varied or exacting; for the 
presiding eldership was substituted the presidency of the 
College, including preaching in the College chapel each 
Sunday and conducting the Monday Bible study class for 
the students. During the eight years of his presidency 
he carried the greater part of the burden of the financial 
management, often under the utmost discouragements. 

In June, 1864, President Weaver resigned as head of 
the College, and, though urgently solicited to reconsider, 
steadfastly held to his conviction that it was better for 
him to withdraw. Perhaps he felt, as many another 
leader of unworldly ideas against great odds, has been 
driven to feel, that somehow he failed to bring to the 
support of the cause just those peculiar talents and per- 
sonal qualities of leadership most sorely needed, or else 
that the cause in this place was so hemmed in by acci- 
dental circumstances that the only freedom lay in a new 
start. At any rate, President Weaver insisted on the 
acceptance of his resignation, went to Kansas, and there 

57 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

took up the work in which he was so deeply interested, 
the building of a church school. Under his leadership 
Lane University was founded in the fall of 1864, and he 
became the first president, which position he held for two 
years. As a mouthpiece, both for the school and for the 
Church in Kansas, he established and edited the Kansas 
New Era. After a strenuous life of more than ordinary 
usefulness, he died in 1874, at Valley Falls, Kansas. 

By way of tribute and reminiscence, the following are 
presented : 

"He was a man of much energy and strong will, a man 
of intensity and of rich Christian character. Always 
while president he conducted the preaching service on 
Sunday. He was a preacher of interest and more than 
ordinary force. He also conducted the Bible recitation 
of the school on Mondays, in which the students took 
great interest." Jacob A. Shuey, '65. 

"President Weaver was a man of positive character, 
and left a lasting impression upon those who knew him. 
I recall him as a man, tall, slightly stooped, and rather 
loosely built — somewhat in the style of Abraham Lincoln 
— but he had great physical endurance. In disposition he 
was always kind and considerate. He usually had his 
way among men, but there was nothing domineering about 
him. On the other hand, he won men to his purpose by 
always having at hand good reasons for his projects, and 
by kind and conciliatory methods. If he had any enemies 
I was never aware of it. When I consider how many men 
who have had the best scholastic advantages fail in 
practical life, I can scarcely measure my esteem for one, 
who, without such advantages, undertakes such a work 

58 



Our Founders 

as President Weaver did, and succeeds as admirably 
under such adverse circumstances. 

"E. C. Ebersole." 

Mrs. S. J. Staves, now of Des Moines, Iowa, then with 
her parents, a resident of Western, recalls an interesting 
instance of President Weaver's thoughtful kindliness and 
sympathy. One hot summer's afternoon she, a little 
barefoot girl, was starting for the prairie to gather a pail 
of wild strawberries. On the way she met President 
Weaver, and he, big-hearted man that he was, filled with 
compassion for the little toiler, said, "You don't need to 
go away out there alone ; go right over to our berry patch 
and pick one pailful for us and one for you and it will be 
all right." Swept by a wave of gratitude, whose warmth 
is not diminished by the lapse of fifty years, she joyfully 
obeyed, and found, to her delight, that picking large cul- 
tivated strawberries in rows close together — the first she 
had ever seen — was a much lighter task than picking the 
small wild berries scattered over the face of the prairie, 
especially with the congenial companionship and help of 
the president's little daughter. 

Mr. Thomas G. Smith, a prominent lawyer of Hunting- 
ton, Indiana, who was a student of Western in 1858-59, 
tells an anecdote that reveals something of the character 
of President Weaver, and at the same time shows that 
human nature does not change much in half a century. 

"I became a student in April, 1858, and left in June, 
1860. On my arrival I immediately found myself a guest 
at a small hotel kept by a Mr. Bolenbaugh, and while I 
was there one day a couple of footmen made inquiry 
where they could procure some whiskey. The president 
of the College, Solomon Weaver, at that time had his 

59 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

office in the rear part of the room in which his son con- 
ducted a retail store (and he was a very pronounced 
temperance man). One of the waggish guests of the 
hotel informed the "thirsty souls" that this was a temper- 
ance town and there was but one place where anything of 
that kind was kept, and that was by an old man in that 
store behind the desk. They were also forewarned that 
a great deal of caution and dexterity would have to be 
exercised, as he would, from the start, pretend that he 
could not supply their wants, but they were certain to 
succeed if they persisted. They did persist and per- 
sist until the old man became indignant and vehemently 
ordered them from the building, always remaining 
ignorant of the fact that a mischievous individual and 
his friends were watching the proceedings at a safe dis- 
tance." 

Perhaps the names that should stand next in honor to 
Solomon Weaver among the founders of Western Col- 
lege are those of Father Jacob Shuey and his two sons, 
Captain W. H. Shuey and J. A. Shuey. The Shueys 
were descendants of the Huguenots who fled from France 
to escape massacre at the hands of the Catholics. One 
branch of the family settled in Augusta County, Virginia, 
where they became land holders and miem_bers of the 
United Brethren Church. In 1855, Jacob Shuey and his 
sons came to Iowa and settled on the prairie between 
Cedar Rapids and Iowa City. Captain W. H. Shuey 
laid out the village of Shuey ville, spent much talent 
and considerable money in building it up, and started 
several business enterprises. When the opportunity 
came to compete for the location of the proposed college, 
Jacob Shuey and his sons were foremost among the lay- 
man promoters, both in making donations and in solicit- 

60 



Our Founders. 

ing donations from their neighbors. That their activity 
in the matter was due to a desire to promote the highest 
welfare of the community and not to selfish interest is 
proved by the fact that the College site, by common con- 
sent, was to be a mile away from Shueyville, and the 
Shueys knew that the growth of a town so near would 
mean detraction from the enterprises that they had 
started. Jacob Shuey gave 160 acres of prairie land as 
a town site, and 40 acres of timber land some miles dis- 
tant. In addition, he contributed various sums of money. 
Acting under the instruction of the Board, he borrowed 
a large sum from his friends in Virginia for the use of 
the College, most of which he eventually paid. Captain 
W. H. Shuey gave according to his ability, was active 
in the first canvass for funds, carried the proposition to 
Sugar Creek, and secured the location of the College at 
Western. He served long as a member of the Board of 
Trustees and of the Executive Committee, and for a time 
as treasurer of the College, and, with Solomon Weaver, 
edited the Western College Advocate. All the time he 
was engrossed in business enterprises, a share of the 
profits of which went into the treasury of the College. 
J. A. Shuey, though but a lad at the time, took an active 
part in the founding of the College, and later served as a 
member of the Executive Committee, as teacher in the 
College, and now as trustee representing the Alumni 
Association. To all these would truthfully apply the 
son's tribute to his father: "He was a liberal, generous- 
hearted man, a lover of his Church, the College, and his 
God, always a faithful Christian worker." 

Adam Perry was one of the earliest and truest friends 
the College had. Though not a member of the United 
Brethren Church, he eagerly identified himself with the 

61 



Western — Leander-Ctark College 

movement to secure the College for his community, and 
remained a life-long friend and generous supporter of 
the school. At the founding of the College, he donated 
40 acres of land for the town site and aided with gifts 
of money. Being a practical surveyor, he surveyed and 
platted the campus and the town site surrounding it. 
For twenty years or more he was a member of the 
Executive Committee of the College, giving unstintedly 
of his time and energy and contributing many thousand 
dollars. In 1868 he was elected a member of the State 
legislature and served to the satisfaction of all. From 
the founding of the College until the fall of 1875, Mr. 
Perry made his home in Western and heartily supported 
everything that promised to further the welfare of the 
College or the community. The warm blood of his Irish 
ancestors added to a strain of sentiment through his 
maternal ancestor, a relative of Dean Swift, imparted to 
him a genial social disposition and a ready sympathy for 
the finer possibilities of life. The Perry home was one 
of the most hospitable in the village and often extended 
its social cheer to representative college folk. In 1875, 
Mr. Perry removed to Cedar Rapids and engaged in 
business. His death occurred in December, 1891. "Thus 
was the curtain drawn on a long life full of kindly 
thoughts and good deeds." 

Jonathan Neidig was another of the earliest and stanch- 
est friends of the institution. He was one of the five 
trustees appointed by the Iowa Conference in 1855 to 
decide the question of establishing a college. In an early 
day he removed from Muscatine to Western, partly that 
he might give his family the benefits of the College and 
partly that he might give his personal help in building up 
the institution. He contributed land and money at the 

62 



Our Founders 

founding of the College, and in 1858 was a liberal donor 
toward a boarding hall for men, named Neidig Hall in 
honor of the donor. Mr. Neidig was one of the "pillars 
during the dark and trying days of the school's early 
history." He died at Western in 1868. 

Mr. Ira Lane, then an aged farmer living near Gales- 
burg, Knox County, Illinois, holds the distinction of mak- 
ing the largest individual donation to the College before 
it was removed from Western. In recognition of this 
gift a large, three-story boarding hall for ladies, the 
largest building erected on the old campus at Western, 
was named Lane Hall. Brick and stone are not always 
enduring monuments of worthy names and deeds; the 
name of Ira Lane finds a more lasting monument in the 
grateful remembrance of all the sons and daughters of 
the Western he helped to build. 

A group of ministerial founders may be mentioned 
together as being closely associated in the first movement 
in the Iowa Conference toward undertaking a church 
school, and in the first strenuous years of effort to set 
the College on its feet« They are Rev. Martin Bowman, 
earnest champion of the school idea in the conference at 
Muscatine, in 1855, long one of the most valued members 
of the Board of Trustees, and for a time pastor of the 
station at Western; Rev. Martin G. Miller, likewise a 
champion of the school movement, member of the first 
Board of Trustees, for several years its secretary, and 
the first soliciting agent officially sent into the field ; Rev. 
Daniel Runkle, also a member of the first Board of 
Trustees and its first treasurer, a wise counselor on the 
Board for sixteen years, and a mainstay of the Church 
in Iowa, especially in Lisbon, where he made his home 
until his death ; and Rev. J. E. Bower sox, one of the three 

63 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

men appointed as the first executive committee of the 
College, and continued a member for many years. Rev. 
I. L. Buchwalter and Rev. M. S. Drury, though not actu- 
ally of the founders, deserve to be mentioned in this 
connection because they espoused the cause of the Col- 
lege in a very early day, giving it their whole-souled sup- 
port, and finally came to Western with their great-hearted 
wives and large families of intelligent sons and daughters, 
thus adding greatly to the substantial character and 
dignity of the college community, to its social prestige, 
and to the scholastic reputation of the institution. 

Three other names of laymen appear frequently in the 
records of those early days — Benjamin Tallman, who was 
farm agent during the greater part of the time the farm 
was operated by the College, for a time resident agent of 
the College, and a member of the executive committee; 
Ransom Davis, for fifteen years a valued member of 
the executive committee ; and John W. Henderson, active 
in securing the location of the College, for some time 
secretary of the board of trustees, and long on the execu- 
tive committee. Among the reminiscences graciously 
furnished by Mr. T. G. Smith, mentioned before, is one 
that shows the lovable character of Mr. Henderson, and 
at the same time slips aside the lattice for a peep at the 
unrecorded doings of those days. Mr. Henderson con- 
'ducted a small store in the village, and, in addition, 
operated a fine farm a mile or two away. Among the pro- 
ducts of the farm was an unusually fine patch of water- 
melons. Although Mr. Henderson was most liberal 
with these, a company of college boys, feeling, perhaps, 
in accordance with the old proverb, that stolen waters 
are sweetest, occasionally visited the patch under cover of 
darkness and helped themselves. On one such occasion 

64 



Our Founders 

some inconsiderate person, presumably the hired man on 
the farm, fired a charge of bird-shot in the direction of 
the melon raiders, some of which whizzed dangerously 
close to the anatomy of the boys, and they, suddenly real- 
izing that they had urgent business at the College, made 
rapid strides in that direction. When Mr. Henderson 
some time later learned of the incident, he was much 
distressed at the danger the boys had been in, and apolo- 
gized to them profusely, assuring them that they were 
welcome to all the melons they wanted, but urged them, 
as a precaution, to notify him the next time they meant to 
visit the patch lest the hired man should try to play 
another "joke" on them. 

It will be appropriate to close this tribute to the 
founders of Western College with some mention of the 
share vv^omen had in the undertaking. Although the 
official records of these days seldom mention the women, 
it is safe to assume that here, as in the case of every 
cause whose prime aim is the blessing of mankind, women 
supplied the larger part of the sympathy and patient 
sacrifice that gave the cause enduring vitality, an assump- 
tion fully supported by the few written hints and by the 
overwhelming testimony of tradition and by personal 
recollection. The wife of a college president is as im- 
portant to the welfare of the school at any stage of its 
history as is her husband, and doubly so during its first 
years. Few will ever know how much the early days 
owed to Mrs. Weaver and to women of her class. No 
better glimpse at the inside history of those days can 
be had than through the words of President Weaver's 
daughter, Mrs. C. C. Lord, of Valley Falls, Kansas, in 
response to a letter of inquiry: "While father was ever 
an earnest, energetic worker, there was much that he 

65 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

accomplished in which my sainted mother bore a great 
part, and which, had it not been for her able and willing 
assistance, he could not have succeeded in doing alone. 
We, as children, realized what her part in the work meant 
much more than did outsiders, as her house was always 
open and her hands ever ready to provide for the enter- 
tainment of those who were sent on errands connected 
with the College work. She was, indeed, a helpmeet for 
father, and sacrifices fell as heavily on her as on him." 
Volumes of unwritten history are suggested by those 
sentences — volumes in which, if written, the wife of every 
officer, teacher, soliciting agent, and local supporter of 
the school would have a great part. Such a story would 
often record how the man's failing efforts were stimu- 
lated to new life by the woman's sublimer sacrifices, and 
his despairing courage revived by the woman's finer and 
more abiding faith. It would tell of Mrs. Shuey's 
generous hospitality and hearty cheer; of Mrs. Perry's 
genial welcome and hearty feasts for spirit as well as for 
body; of Mrs. Ebersole's dainty cooking and cultured 
social manners, both revelations to country boys ; of Mrs. 
Dillman's endless tact, wholesome optimism, and inspiring 
leadership; and of Miss Hillis' earnest personality, un- 
worldly wisdom, and consecrated life. A later chapter 
would tell of Mrs. I. L. Buchwalter, of Mrs. M. S. Drury, 
and Mrs. Ralph Shatto, each of whom was "mother" to a 
score or more of boys and girls temporarily separated 
from the shelter and solace of their own homes and con- 
sequently yearning for the genial domestic warmth that 
radiates only from a great motherly heart. Bearded 
boys of fifty and sixty still feel their hearts glow with 
grateful tenderness at the recollection of some special 
act of motherly kindness to the boy away from home, 

^6 



Our Founders 

and count it no unmanly thing to have yielded glad 
surrender to the witchery of "my boy," spoken as only 
a capacious mother's heart can speak. 

EARLY TEACHERS. 

Western College was peculiarly fortunate in having 
as teachers in the early period, when the institution was 
receiving its soul impress, men and women of the loftiest 
ideals concerning both scholarship and character. They 
came from Oberlin, from Dartmouth, from Amherst, and 
later from Otterbein, when those institutions stood for 
serious scholarship touched with a holy reverence for 
sacred things, especially in the case of Oberlin with the 
great and devout personality of President Finney stamped 
upon it. Deeply imbued with the high mission of conse- 
crated culture, they asked but an opportunity to serve and 
concerned themselves but little about material rewards 
or the emoluments of position. Something of the mis- 
sionary spirit must have inspired the first teachers to come 
to a new land and join heart and soul in an educational 
work of a denomination so young in college matters that 
it had none of its own members sufficiently trained to 
take the position of teachers in its schools. 

That the salary consideration was not the only induce- 
ment may be inferred from a resolution of the board of 
trustees, passed at its first annual session, authorizing the 
procuring of additional members for the faculty at not to 
exceed $500 per annum each. This seems to have been 
the standard rate for some years; and but a small part 
of this amount was paid in cash, the remainder being 
paid in products from the College farm, in wood, or in 
College notes. There is a tradition that during one of 
the periods of financial depression the families of the 

67 



Western — Lcander-Clark College 

professors kept up the social forms by inviting each other 
to tea, the "tea" in each case consisting entirely of mush 
and milk. 

As to the character and qualifications of these pioneer 
teachers, all voices are unanimous in bestowing the high- 
est tribute of esteem and praise. President Weaver is 
to be considered among the founders rather than among 
the teachers, and yet his position as president of the 
College and virtual college pastor brought him into such 
close personal and spiritual relation with the students 
that his energetic personality and earnest life made a deep 
impression on all. Though appearing stern, he was the 
kindest of men at heart, and won the everlasting grati- 
tude of many a boy by his sympathetic interest in the 
boy's welfare and the wise helpfulness that stimulated 
the boy to make something of himself. The greatest 
satisfaction of his life was received through letters from 
such boys, thanking him for his share in shaping their 
lives for good. 

Sylvester S. Dillman, the first teacher employed by the 
College, was a fortunate selection to start a new school 
enterprise. He was an Oberlin graduate, a man of char- 
acter, and a student of methodical habits and accurate 
scholarship. He had already been closely identified with 
the educational work of the United Brethren Church, 
having even in his undergraduate days taught one year 
in Otterbein University, and later having spent two years 
as teacher in Mount Pleasant College, Mount Pleasant, 
Pennsylvania. Professor Dillman was a thorough mathe- 
matician and an independent thinker. One of his pupils 
recalls that he would explain the textbook method of 
solution for a given type of problem and then would say : 
"Now that is what the textbook says, but here is a 

68 



Our Founders 

shorter way:" then he would proceed to give a simple, 
direct, and clear method of his own. Because of his 
practical sagacity and his knowledge of science. Professor 
Dillman at one time was put in charge of the college farm 
with the thought that he should conduct a department of 
strictly scientific agriculture, but both he and the College 
authorities were prevented by stress of other duties from 
carrying out their plans in this regard. For some time 
he was publisher of the Western College Advocate, a posi- 
tion for which he was peculiarly well fitted. The maga- 
zine under his care presented a neatness, orderliness, and 
mechanical excellence that would be a credit to any 
publication. Once, and only once, did the boys try to 
play a rude prank on Professor Dillman. One night they 
secured a number of calves and shut them in Professor 
Dillman's recitation room. Next morning he appeared 
early, had the calves removed and the room made pre- 
sentable. When the next class assembled with the cul- 
prits evidently among them, he looked searchingly at the 
boys and then remarked, as if conveying a bit of informa- 
tion, *'The last class I met in this room was the brightest 
looking, most intelligent, and well behaved class I have 
seen here in a long while." With that the serious work 
of the lesson began. Professor Dillman held the chair 
of mathematics and natural science in Western College 
from the opening of the College, in 1857, to the fall of 
1860. He then accepted the principalship of the Toledo, 
Iowa, High School, which position he resigned in 1862 
to enlist in the Union Army. He was killed in 1864 in 
the battle of Winchester, dying in the arms of Captain 
Shrader, his former associate teacher. The "S. S. Dili- 
man Post" of the G. A. R., at Toledo, Iowa, is named in 
his honor. 

m , 1 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

Mrs. Emily L. Dillman, first principal of the Female 
Department of Western College, was in miany respects a 
remarkable woman. Capable and aspiring, she had 
sought a college education at a time when comparatively 
few women thought higher education necessary for them. 
Like her husband, she was a graduate of Oberlin, and 
with him she taught two years in Mount Pleasant College 
before taking up the new work at Western. Here, by 
her capable instruction, and still more by her wise com- 
panionship and helpful counsel among the girls, she made 
her work indispensable to the welfare of the school. 
When later she felt that she must give up her work and 
offered her resignation, the board was so urgent that she 
remained a while longer at her post. Later, at Toledo, 
Iowa, she taught in the public schools several years and 
served as postmistress for seventeen years. During all 
that time she so identified herself with all that was for 
the real welfare of the community that her memory is 
held in genuine and universal esteem such as only a few 
rare souls are permitted to win. Mrs. Dillman was the 
first to suggest the bringing of the College to Toledo. 

Mr. John C. Shrader, though only an assistant teacher, 
and not a regular professor, yet filled so large a place in 
the early life of the school that his name deserves to 
stand with those of Solomon Weaver, S. S. Dillman, and 
Mrs. E. L. Dillman, not only as associates in the first 
faculty of Western College, but also as coworkers in 
everything that promised the good of the school. He had 
the privilege of hearing the first recitation conducted by 
the College. He helped to organize the strong and influ- 
ential Theological Association, so flourishing in the early 
days of the school, and was for a long time its secretary. 
Mr. Shrader was connected with the College until the 

70 



Our Founders 

breaking out of the Civil War, at which time he, together 
with several other teachers and many students of the 
College, enlisted and went to the war, reaching the rank 
of Captain. 

After the war was over he completed the medical 
course, and later founded the Medical College of the 
State University of Iowa, and served as dean of the 
college for twenty-eight years. In recognition of his 
high attainments in scholarship and his long service in the 
College, Western College, in 1877, bestowed upon Doctor 
Shrader the honorary degree of Master of Arts, and in 
1894 the degree of Doctor of Laws. 

Professor William Parmenter, M.D., a graduate of 
Oberlin, the first teacher added after the school was or- 
ganized, was called to the College in the fall of 1857 as 
Professor of Anatomy and Physiology. He divided his 
time between teaching in the College and his profession in 
the village of Western. His teaching was largely a 
service of love, and his devotion to the College and its 
interests but one expression of his constant zeal for moral 
instruction and the inculcation of high Christian ideals 
in the minds of youth. His pupils remember him as the 
kindest hearted of teachers, and the sincerest of friends 
as well as the most logical of thinkers. It falls to the 
lot of very few teachers to leave in the lives of those 
under their instruction so rich a heritage of earnest, stim- 
ulating ideals as Doctor Parmenter imparted to those who 
were fortunate enough to come under his personal influ- 
ence in the intimate fellowship of the schoolroom. He 
remained a teacher in the College until 1860, most of 
which time he served on the executive committee and 
was active in other interests of the College. The re- 
mainder of his life was devoted to his profession, the 

71 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

greater part of it in Vermontville, Michigan. He died at 
Vermont ville, July 4, 1907, ripe in years and rich in the 
love of all who had known him. The following extract 
from a letter by Mrs. Parmenter, April 19, 1908, to 
Captain E. B. Soper, of Emmetsburg, Iowa, will show 
how a quiet life of good deeds counts for righteousness. 

"Dear Sir: I am in receipt of yours of the sixteenth 
inst. to Doctor Parmenter, and I write to inform you of 
his death, 'his passing into the life beyond,' on the fourth 
of July last. As we were married in '55, I was with him 
at Western, and remember the names of the students, 
though I cannot recall their faces, and I am happy to 
know that my husband is very kindly remembered by his 
pupils. 

"We came to Vermontville in 1863, when, with so many 
physicians in the army, his country rides were long and 
hard, and for the last ten years he was an invalid himself, 
and now that his sufferings are over he is, as Will Carle- 
ton says, 'Entitled to a furlough for his brain and for his 
heart.' As you will readily believe, he was active in 
every good that concerned the village, the school, and the 
church, and many of the business men who grew up here, 
and are, in some cases, in far-away homes, have sent me 
testimonials of their loving appreciation of him. The 
Congregational minister of Yankton writes, T may forget 
Doctor Parmenter as I saw him in his pathetic decline, 
but I can never forget him as I knew him from '75 to '88 
— strong, steady, clean, logical, physically courageous, 
morally heroic, spiritually confident. He was always a 
tonic to us boys.' Again, 'No man who has ever lived in 
Vermontville has a larger moral asset of influence credited 
to his account.' A successful physician of Grand 
Rapids, who began his medical studies in Doctor Par- 

72 



Our Founders 

menter's office forty years ago, writes, 'I remember the 
doctor as one of the most unselfish, most scholastic, and 
most courteous and upright Christian physicians I have 
ever known.' " 

Professor Moses Willard Bartlett is another of the 
pioneer teachers at old Western who deserves a greater 
meed of praise than mere words can bestow. He was a 
pedagogue almost from his youth, having taught several 
terms in Massachusetts and New York to procure the 
means for his own education. In 1857 he was graduated 
from Dartmouth College, then as now noted for its high 
standard of classical scholarship. In January, 1858, Mr. 
Bartlett took up his work at Western as Professor of 
Latin and Greek, which position he held until 1867, a 
remarkably long term of service, considering the trying 
times through which the school passed during that time. 
He had inherited the New England reverence for learn- 
ing with something of the Puritan devotion to unworldly 
ideals and undying loyalty to a cause. When others be- 
came discouraged and gave up. Professor Bartlett stil! 
held on, endured and hoped, though not always free from 
the pinch of poverty. During all his stay at Western 
he was a member of the Executive Committee, and for 
five years served as college treasurer, in which office he 
presented minute and accurate reports and demanded like 
reports from agents and others dealing with the treasury. 
-From 1865 to 1867, the most depressing period in the 
history of the College, Professor Bartlett was principal 
or acting president. In scholarship he was precise and 
finished; in personality, gentle, patient, and gracious; in 
character, high-minded and pure. After leaving Western 
College, Professor Bartlett taught in Denmark Academy 
and Memphis Academy, and later for twenty-eight years 

73 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

was a teacher in the Iowa State Normal School. At the 
close of his service in the last-named institution a great 
jubilee celebration, in honor of Professor Bartlett's fifty 
years in the work of education, was held. At present 
writing he is living with his daughter, 631 West Third 
Street, Waterloo, Iowa, very feeble in health and 
patiently waiting for release. 

Professor Ezra C. Ebersole, who came to the College as 
Professor of Mathematics in 1863, has been intimately 
associated with the history of the school ever since, most 
of the time in some official capacity. Coming as a grad- 
uate of Amherst, one of the best of that remarkable group 
of New England colleges, and with his own instinctive 
thoroughness, he added to the high standard of scholar- 
ship and efficiency the College had already attained. 
There was an unpretentious dignity about him, and a 
constant air of orderliness that compelled respect and won 
unconscious obedience. A student of those days remarks, 
"That man Ebersole was a prince among men. He 
taught us mathematics efficiently, but he taught us other 
things worth more than mathematics; he did not tell us 
to keep order, but we kept order just the same." When, 
in 1864, a new enlistment for the Union Army was being 
made at Western, Professor Ebersole, with many others 
both within and outside the school, enlisted and went to 
the front. In June, 1865, he resigned his position and en- 
gaged in other work for two years. The darkest days, 
perhaps, that the College had yet seen, came in 1867. 
Finances were at a very low ebb, teachers were discour- 
aged and giving up their positions, the student attendance 
was small, much dissatisfaction existed, and local 
support was divided. At this juncture a committee from 
Western called upon Professor Ebersole, then visiting in 

74 



Our Founders 

Cedar Rapids, and urged him to take the management of 
the school. This he agreed to do on condition that he be 
given a free hand both in the government and in the man- 
agement, a condition which was very readily assented to. 
That year was one of the crisis periods of the school, and 
to Professor Ebersole is due largely the fact that the 
crisis was passed in safety. The old rules, many of them 
arbitrary and multiplied like the Rabbinical laws until 
they became an endless vexation, were still in force, at 
least nominally. The first official act of the new principal 
was to proclaim the one rule, "Behave yourselves like 
ladies and gentlemen." The next was to seek the hearty 
cooperation of students and townspeople in the real suc- 
cess of the school. This effort was so far successful 
that the year closed with greater unanimity of feeling and 
stronger hopes than had been experienced for some time. 
Attendance increased before the year was out, and a mass 
meeting of students, held in the College chapel in June, 
sent each one out as a zealous missionary to bring in other 
students for next year, a campaign so successful that the 
next term found the attendance practically doubled. So 
well pleased was the Board with Professor Ebersole's 
administration that it elected him president for the 
next school year. In the meantime, however, President 
Ebersole had been offered a position in the State Univer- 
sity of Iowa, but, though he felt it to be to his interest to 
accept, he would not do so until he found, largely through 
his personal efforts, a satisfactory man for the v/ork at 
Western. Such a person was found in President E. B. 
Kephart, with whom began a new era for Western 
College. 

After two years as Associate Professor of Greek and 
Latin in the State University and one year as principal 

75 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

of the Cedar Rapids High School, Mr. Ebersole came to 
Toledo, Iowa, in 1873, and began the practice of law, a 
profession in which he still continues. When the ques- 
tion of relocating the College was being agitated, Mr. 
Ebersole, seconded by Mrs. Dillman, secured from the 
citizens of Toledo the proposition that brought the Col- 
lege to its final seat in this city. Since then he has been 
the legal adviser of the College on all matters, and has 
served twenty-one years on the Executive Committee. 
When the endowment was secured in 1906 and the Col- 
lege authorities needed a safe and capable man to super- 
intend the investing and guarding of those funds, they 
instinctively turned to Mr. Ebersole, and he was made 
financial secretary of the institution. After the endow- 
ment fund was all placed and the business of the College 
had been reduced to accurate methods, he laid down all 
other duties of his office, except those relating to endow- 
ment, which latter duties he continued to perform under 
the title of endowment secretary until 1910, much to the 
gratification of the College authorities and especially of 
Major Clark. 

Mr. Ebersole has always been a conscientious, method- 
ical worker, a man of deliberate and sound judgment, and 
of unflinching integrity. Though naturally shrinking from 
public office, he often found offices pressed upon him, and 
when he accepted the office it was in the spirit of a right- 
eous obligation. Even when not in office, he spent as 
much thought on the public welfare as on his own inter- 
ests, and his greatest passion was for the prevalence of 
private and civic righteousness as the rule of conduct 
among men. Mr. Ebersole's chief public services to the 
local community and to his country have been as reporter 
of the supreme court of Iowa for eight years, member of 

76 



Our Founders 

the State board of law examiners since its organization, 
author of *'The Encyclopedia of Iowa Law," a monumen- 
tal work representing fifteen years of conscientious labor, 
and editor of the Iowa Code, 1897. 

Miss Hester A. Hillis, sister of Newell Dwight Hillis, 
though but two years a teacher in Western College, im- 
pressed her intense personality and pure spiritual con- 
viction so deeply upon the individual and collective life of 
the school that her memory has become one of the most 
precious legacies of those early days. She gave up her 
school work in order to go as a missionary to Ceylon, 
where she served from 1868 to 1880; after four years in 
America she returned and took up work in Singeranni, 
India, where, during the famine of 1887, she literally gave 
her life for the people. The following from the pen of 
Rev, R. E. Williams, class of 72, is typical of what many 
could say of Miss Hillis : "While all my teachers took a 
great interest in me, both as to my temporal and spiritual 
welfare, to no one do I owe more than to Miss Hillis. 
She was a noble, conscientious Christian worker. If I 
have not been misinformed she starved to death while a 
missionary on the island of Ceylon. Many of the natives 
were dying of starvation, and her great, loving, tender 
heart could not bear to see them starving while she had 
plenty for herself, so she divided what she had with them 
and with them died." The death of Miss Hillis occurred 
in 1887 during her term in India, substantially as related 
by Doctor Williams. 

Space forbids detailed mention of the other early 
teachers whose influences counted in making up the full 
amount of aspiration and beneficent endeavor for which 
the College came to stand — of Dr. H. A. Thompson, most 
of whose laurels were won in other fields; of Jennie 

77 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

Miller, whose untimely death invested her life story with 
an added pathos; of Dr. Homer R. Page, gratefully re- 
membered for his quiet worth; of William Davis, the 
man of God, president for one year; of D. A. Tawney, 
the brilliant speaker and inspiring singer; of Frances E. 
Spencer, who brought a touch of eastern culture to our 
frontier school; of Francis Kun, whose old world store 
of classic learning is still a tradition in the College; and 
many others who belong rather to the transition period 
or later times. 

As a fitting close to this account of the founders and 
early teachers of Western College, it is peculiarly appro- 
priate to append the following extract from a paper by 
Dr. E. R. Smith, read at the Alumni Banquet, June 8, 
1910, as part of the Quadrennial Celebration, under the 
title, "The Old Guard." 

"Have you ever thought of the struggles of the pioneers 
of this College, of the privations, of the sublime faith in 
the ultimate success of their efforts ? Many of these had 
come from homes of refinement and from colleges in the 
east, all from good, sturdy stock. In this western 
country of their choice there grew up around the College 
a little hamlet of refined, educated, God-fearing people of 
whom the world was not worthy. Many of these died in 
the faith not having received the promise, but having seen 
it afar off. Truly, if they had been mindful of that 
country from which they came they might have had 
opportunity to have returned; but they, by faith, as it 
were, passed through the Red Sea of adversity and mis- 
fortune. 

"And what more shall I say ? For the time would fail 
me to tell of Solomon, Ezekiel, Ezra, Isaiah, Job, Abram, 
Cyrus, Daniel, Barzillia, Benjamin, and James, who, 

78 



Our Founders 

irough faith subdued passion, wrought righteousness, 
btained promises, out of weakness were made strong, 
-axed valiant in fight. These are The Old Guard.' " 

EARLY STUDENTS. 

'The years 1859-61 were golden ones in the history of 
le College. The faculty, though not large, contained 
ble men. The student body was exceptionally fine ; Iowa 
nd northern Illinois had sent her best, for Western was 
■le first in the field. In 1859 there was no college at 
-rinnell, but a small conference seminary at Mount 
'ernon, and a mere beginning at Iowa City. Students 
-ime there from Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, and other 
tties which later had their own institutions. The stu- 
ents, too, were older on the average, I should say, than 
le corresponding classes would be to-day — 150 to 175 
len and women. The spirit and enthusiasm were most 
:ntagious and inspiring. 

'Much of this was due to Professor Parmenter, a thor- 
ugh scholar, an earnest Christian, a polished gentleman, 
ad a born teacher. Not to disparage others, he seemed 
le very soul of the institution, wielding an influence over 
le students he perhaps hardly suspected." 

The above, from W. T. Jackson, first classical graduate 
f the College, gives concisely the general characteristic of 
le early student body. As no catalogues were issued in 
lose days and no complete lists of students seem to have 
een preserved, the historian is dependent upon the 
lemories of students who were there in attendance, and 
uon an occasional program preserved by some one more 
toughtful than his fellows. The oldest program, and 
:r that reason invested with peculiar interest, that of 
te first "Exhibition" in 1858, has been given in a pre- 

79 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

ceding chapter. To a fellow student the mere sight of 
these names will be sufficient to open the floodgates of 
memory and bring back scenes of those days, some vivid 
and never-to-be-forgotten, and some in that shadowy 
borderland of half -remembered things. To the younger 
members of the college family these may be only names 
until invested with personality and human interest by 
the recital of the life stories belonging to the names. It 
is a pleasure to be able to give a few representative sto- 
ries from the period, using to some extent the editor's 
prerogative of selection and condensation. The most 
valuable collection of data and reminiscences concerning 
the early students of the College that the historian has 
received, was presented by Captain E. B. Soper, in the 
form of letters he had solicited from his schoolmates 
about themselves and one another. These letters look 
back over a span of fifty years and serve to strengthen 
the conviction that school days and school friendships 
furnish life's later years their fondest memories and their 
most prized legacies. Written for the most part by men 
and women who have made a distinguished success of 
life, even in the sense in which the world esteems success, 
the letters reflect the subduing, hallowing influences of 
those earlier experiences and their unconscious intrusion 
into the later practical affairs, and show the supreme 
valuation old age comes to place upon human fellowship 
and human kindness. Captain Soper has won the heart- 
felt gratitude of his classmates by patiently collecting 
these reminiscences of half a century ago, and these bits 
of personal history; we also of the later generation owe 
him a debt of gratitude for showing us a quiet evening 
picture of the older family circle, a kind of mirror of our 
life's afternoon and our instinctive turning back to the 




REV. E. B. KEPHART, D.D. 
^sident through thirteen important years 1868-1881. 



Our Founders 

old home ties formed under the fostering care of our 
common mother. The following letter, written by Cap- 
tain Soper, will explain itself : 

"Emmetsburg, Iowa, Oct. 30, 1908. 
''To the President of Leander Clark College, Toledo, la. 
^'Dear Sir : I was a student of Western College, begin- 
ning March 4, 1857, about the middle of the first term of 
school, and continued the most of the time from then up 
to April, 1861, when I enlisted in Company K, 12th Iowa 
Volunteers, from Cedar Rapids, with some twelve other 
students, then having completed the freshman year. I 
was among the very early members of the Young Men's 
Institute, the leading literary society then in the school. 
During the last six months or more, I have been, for my 
own amusement, looking up some of my old school- 
fellows in those early years of the College who are still 
living, and I thought perhaps that these letters may be 
worth preserving in your museum or library, as giving 
some account of the subsequent lives of the men who 
were its early students; and with that in view, I enclose 
you herewith letters from Dr. D. B. Bobb, a physician 
at Dakota, 111. ; Mr. T. G. Smith, an attorney at Hunting- 
ton, Ind. ; Mr. Wallace C. McCanon, a doctor now at 
Moline, 111. ; John J. Lamm, a farmer of Sedalia, Mo. ; 
Rev. W. T. Jackson, one of the alumni of your College, 
who also was there with us during the years mentioned; 
and Mr. L. E. Weaver, a son of old President Weaver. 
These letters give some account of others who were stu- 
dents in the College in those early days, what became of 
them, and what their success in life has been. I 
enclose you a letter from the widow of Dr. Wm. Par- 
menter, who was one of the first professors at Western, 
being also a physician, and who, in about 1860, left 

81 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

Western and went to Michigan to practice his profession ; 
a letter from Kate A. Lord, nee Weaver, daughter of 
President Weaver, who was during those years a girl of 
from ten to fourteen ; also letters from Mrs. Virginia H. 
Collier, who was also a student during those years. I 
suggest that these letters be placed in the hands of some 
one who is interested in preserving matters relating to 
the early history of the institution and its students, 
and such of the letters as are thought to be of sufficient 
value to preserve, and to destroy the remainder. A num- 
ber of these letters are from different members who were 
on the annual exhibition program for 1858. If you have 
a copy of the program, you will see that Bobb, Smith, 
McCanon, myself, and, I think, Weaver and Lamm, and 
perhaps others were on the program. Smith sent me a 
copy of the 1857 program along in the spring: I had pho- 
tographic copies made of it, and thought I had one in 
hand, but do not find it now. If it comes to hand before 
I mail these letters, I will enclose you a copy, or, if you 
would like to have one to preserve, I will have another 
printed from the negative here for you. 

"I went to Western College in 1857 because it was a 
manual labor school, and it was reported that students 
could pay from one-half to three-fourths of their ex- 
penses by labor. My people were Baptists. We came 
to Iowa in 1847, lived in the southwest corner of Fair- 
view Township, in Jones County. There were three of 
us boys, two from Anamosa and myself, entered school 
at the same time. I practiced rrianual labor during the 
years I was there, and, I suppose, paid at least one-half 
of my expenses from '57 to '59, teaching school in the 
winters of '59, '60, and '61, when I was supporting 
myself entirely. When I returned from the army, in 

82 



Our Founders 

1868, I entered school at Cornell College, Mount Vernon, 
Iowa, and graduated in 1868, which institution has con- 
ferred upon me at different times the degrees of A.B., 
A.M., and LL.D. 

"I am quite familiar with the subsequent lives of the 
students who were in school at the time that I was, and 
I suppose there are really but few of them but that I 
can give an account of their subsequent doings, and what 
they were and what they became. 

"Very truly yours, 

"E. B. SOPER." 

The first letter is from Thomas G. Smith, now a dis- 
tinguished and prosperous lawyer of Huntington, In- 
diana, still actively engaged in the practice of his profes- 
sion. He came to Western in April, 1858, left in June, 
1860. Coming as he did from the heavily timbered 
country of Indiana, he was deeply impressed by the limit- 
less grandeur and varied beauty of the Iowa prairie, 
fitst seen under the charmed touch of the springtime. In 
his "reminiscences," he says, "Some trees were planted 
that spring on the campus a short distance east of the 
college building, in which planting the writer took part; 
the trees grew finely. To the north and east of the Col- 
lege for miles the prairie was unbroken and presented an 
enchanting view in the spring and summer time in its 
virgin state and clothed with wild flowers of various 
hues, making an impression on my youthful mind never 
to be forgotten. 

"A short distance from the College, in a northwesterly 
direction, was situated what was called the college farm, 
consisting of a fine large tract of rich black prairie soil ; 
and to a "Hoosier" boy who had grown up in a heavily 

83 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

timbered country and had combated the stumps and roots 
in an attempt to farm the cleared land, the farming of 
this nice prairie land was as good as play, and many an 
hour did he pass pleasantly assisting with the farm work 
under the supervision of Mr. Tallman, late of Fairfield 
County, Ohio." 

The following are the letters to Captain Soper: 

"Huntington, Ind., April 7, 1908. 

"My Dear Friend : I was so delighted to receive your 
welcome communication. It brought back fresh to my 
recollection many occurrences of fifty years ago, for it 
will be fifty years on the eighteenth day of this month, 
since I arrived at 'Western College' in 1858, and soon 
after my arrival there made your acquaintance. Here is 
food for thought; a full half century ago! how delighted I 
would be to take a good shake of your hand that I last 
grasped when we were only boys with our youthful hopes 
and aspirations for the future. It seems to me I could 
write a volume about those halcyon days, but will have 
to be contented to confine myself to decent limits, else 
I would inflict too great a task upon you in asking you to 
decipher my writing to any great extent, for I never was, 
perhaps never will be, a penman. It affords me great 
pleasure to learn of your health, vigor, and prosperity, 
for I fully realized that with that good kind heart and 
manly disposition that I once knew would develop just 
such a man as you deserved to be and which I believe 
you are. 

"I will now give you, as far as I can recall, a sketch 
of the whereabouts of some of our college mates of old. 
About thirty years ago, J. C. Burkholder lived in Hunt- 
ington and preached to the Baptist people here, but left 

84 



" Our Founders 

many years ago, and was in Iowa the last time I heard 
of him. 

"J. C. Coolman was killed near Independence, Mo., 
during the Civil War. Riley Draper is living at Hudson, 
Colo. Charles Little committed suicide at Littleton, 
Iowa, many years ago. I met Julia Bolenbaugh in Lin- 
coln, Neb., about thirty years ago. She and her husband 
were stopping at the same hotel as myself, but I have 
never heard from her since. Our old Professor Wm. Par- 
menter has been practicing medicine in Vermontville, 
Mich., for many years. Professor Bartlett was at Cedar 
Falls, Iowa, the last I heard from him long ago. Pro- 
fessor Dillman died a great many years ago and his widow 
was residing at Toledo, Iowa (the present location of 
Western College). W. T. Jackson married Miss Shuey, 
of Shueyville, and the last I heard from them they 
were living at Fostoria, Ohio, where he was superintend- 
ent of the high school. I enclose a copy of a program 
that I think will interest you, and I trust you will enjoy 
it and be certain to return it to me. All I ask in exchange 
for giving you the privilege of studying this very historic 
paper is to send me a copy of your oration upon that 
occasion, for considering how soon thereafter the Civil 
War occurred, the subject is very ominous, and you may 
have said or done something upon that occasion to 
hasten it on. But now, dear college mate, I have already 
made this too long and will close for the present, "to be 
continued" when I hear from you again; put in a lot 
about yourself and I will do the same in reply. Now 
believe me, your warm and abiding friend, 

"As ever, 

"T. G. Smith." 



85 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

"Huntington, Ind., May 30, 1908. 
"My Dear Friend : Learning from your last letter that 
you would be away from home until about June first, I 
delayed answering until now, and I wish to say that I 
very much appreciate the renewal of our old college ac- 
quaintance and to receive from you copies of letters from 
other dear college mates of the days of yore spent on 
the beautiful prairie of Iowa, and I comply with your 
request and return to you herewith the dear good letter 
from our sterling, dear, true, Christian friend, D. B. Bobb. 
I remember him as a young man of sterling character and 
worth, and from his letter I infer that he has lived a good, 
pure life and is enjoying the fruits of his well doing. 
Nothing could have been of more interest to me than to 
read the sketch of your life as you sent it and hoping 
that I may please you by returning in kind. I will briefly 
sketch some of my doings since I last saw you and said 
'good-bye' in 1858 at the beautiful little village of 
Western. I went north to Independence, Buchanan 
County, to visit some relatives, and on the fourth of July 
accepted employment to teach a school, commencing im- 
mediately at the village of Littleton, post office, Chatham. 
Taught a fall term of three months and a winter term of 
four months, and then returned to Western and attended 
spring and fall months ; taught at Littleton again the next 
winter, then returned to Western for the spring term in 
1860, and when that closed I returned to Indiana and 
engaged in merchandising, and on August 16, 1860, mar- 
ried 'the girl I left behind me' (when I went to West- 
ern). Succeeded well in chasing and overtaking a few 
dollars. On August 16, 1868, my dear good wife died, 
leaving me with two good, sprightly, helpless children, 
Ida A. and Wm. Seward. Both have families of theif 



Our Founders 

own now and are well fixed and honored citizens of the 
realm. Wm. S. is a stockholder and cashier of a prosper- 
ous bank. I remained in merchandising until 1873 and 
accumulated enough property to feel quite comfortable. 
Then went into the law office of General James R. 
Slack to study law, and when he became judge of our 
court, I completed my studies in the office of W. H. 
Trammel (a man 6^ feet 3 in. tall). Engaged in the 
general practice of law, have enjoyed it very much, 
and am still actively scrapping away. I believed from 
the start that I was fit for nothing else but a lawyer, and 
have never changed my mind on the subject. Now recur- 
ring a little, I will say that on January 30, 1870, I re- 
married; my wife is a charming woman, who has been 
a queenly companion for over thirty-eight years, a noble 
mother to my children, and is to-day all in all to me. 
We have confined our travels to the United States so far, 
but we are both in the very prime of good health and 
vigor and feel that we are now so circumstanced that we 
can take a May off,' and are planning to do so in the near 
future. In fact, we would now be away were it not for 
the critical illness of Mrs. Smith's dear old father, whom 
we do not expect to survive his present illness. We have 
been so abundantly blessed with good health, good 
friends, and prosperity that words fail to express our 
gratitude to our Creator and Redeemer. We have a 
good standing as members of the great and grand old 
M. E. Church. 

"I received the Conference Advocate you sent me dnd 
thank you for it, was pleased to learn that you are an 
honored member of "our church" as Mrs. Smith calls 
it; you would need no further credential than such a 
membership with us, but I have now written more than 

87 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

enough to tire you out in trying to decipher it. So will 
close for the present, but hope to hear from you fre- 
quently. With kindest regards and friendship, I am, 

"Yours, 

"T. G. Smith." 

The next letter is from W. T. Jackson, now rector of 
the Episcopal Church, Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. He is recalled 
by the old boys as the best student in college in the early 
days, a reputation fully sustained by his subsequent 
record, which may be found in the Alumni Register as 
"No. 1." 

"Emmetsburg, Iowa, Sept. 20, 1908. 

"My Dear Captain Soper : You are deserving of great 
credit for your researches among the old students of 
Western College. We were very glad to hear of Lucian 
and Kate Weaver, and to see copies of their letters, with 
news of M. W. Bartlett and wife, the Hills, L. M. Scrib- 
ner, Mollie Stiles, J. J. Lamm, A. M. Blanchard, Bobb, 
A. Jennie Miller, Amelia Miller Perry, etc. 

"I remember Lucian W^eaver very well, dark-haired, 
slow-moving, and slow of speech. The other boys were 
red-haired, freckle- faced, and more impulsive, and so 
were the girls. Kate I remember only as a little girl. 
So Mrs. Bartlett has gone, and her parents, also. I boarded 
with them some two years; very kind people. Poor 
Scribner used to sing tenor and lead the choir at exercises. 
He fell considerably behind Isaac Berger — had no such 
voice. Blanchard used to make lots of merriment in 
giving in his Monday reports on keeping the rules. He 
had a perfect passion, like a darky, for big words, rum- 
maging in the dictionary at all times and then displaying 
his finds, It would make a dog laugh to hear him soberly 



Our Founders 

answering Uncle Solomon or Professor Parmenter or 
Bartlett in the most stilted, high-flying jargon you ever 
heard. Bobb I remember as a tall, neat, clean, light- 
complexioned fellow with some slight impediment in his 
speech, as if he were Pennsylvania Dutch. Poor Miss 
Miller's life and death were a tragedy that began at 
Otterbein University, Ohio. She was infatuated with 
Professor Tawney; following him to Western, she be- 
came lady principal, he professor of mathematics. He 
sought to avoid her, she could not avoid him, became sick, 
lost her mind, went to Cedar Rapids in care of Doctor 
Mansfield, and died there. They ought never both to 
have come to Western. Zaver I forget; Mollie Stiles, 
Jennie Collier, Sadie Dickman, and Amelia Perry I recall. 
"I return copies and thank you very much for sending 
them. "Very truly yours, 

"W. T. Jackson." 

The next letter is from the pen of Mrs. C. C. Lord, 
formerly Miss Kate A. Weaver, daughter of President 
Weaver. 

"Valley Falls, Sept. 22, 1908. 
''Mr. E. B. Soper, Emmetshurg, Iowa. 

"Dear Sir : Your letter with those of other 'old West- 
ern' students received, sent me by brother L. E., for 
which I wish to express my sincere appreciation to you 
for your kindness. While I was not old enough to be a 
classmate of yourself and those whose letters you en- 
closed, yet I remember them and you quite well, and 
through those have learned much of interest to me. I 
was especially pleased to learn of the whereabouts of my 
old playmates, Sally Perry and Sadie Dickman. I had 
known the former's name was Kephart, but was surprised 



Western — Leander-Clark Collegr 

to learn that she is the wife of President Kephart, of 
Western, now Leander Clark College. Professor Eber- 
sole, of Toledo, very kindly remembered me by sending 
me a souvenir book of the College at Christmas time last 
year, in which I found much of interest to me. 

"I presume that brother L. E., has told you all of interest 
regarding our family, so it will not be necessary for me 
to add more or repeat. Suffice it to say that Valley Falls 
has been my home since 1871. We have a very pleasant, 
comfortable home, and I assure you the latch-string is 
always on the outside for any of the old Western friends 
who chance to come this way. I always think of any 
of the old students of that College as friends. I think 
it is so kind of you to undertake such a herculean task as 
that of getting trace of and communicating with so many 
of them, and thank you heartily for remembering me as 
one of the number. It is quite a surprise to me to find 
that so many of them are members of and workers in 
the M. E. Church. I am also among that number, and 
that seems to me another tie to bind us together. It may 
seem strange that I should be, more so, perhaps, than 
many of the rest of you, being brought up from a child 
in the U. B. Church, but for years my home has been 
where there were none of that denomination and I could 
not aflford to be without a church home. Really, I see 
very little difference anyway, so have cast in my lot 
with those I thought nearest in church doctrine to my 
own, and I find it as good a place to work in and worship. 
"The program you enclosed recalled to my mind many 
exhibitions, as they were called, held at old Western. I 
was much pleased to see once again a program of one of 
them, and yet there was a sadness in looking over the 
names of those taking part, as two of them were those 

90 



Our Founders 

of ones very dear to me, who have passed over and are 
now with many of other dear Western friends awaiting 
our coming on the other shore. I fear I am making my 
letter too lengthy, so will desist for this time. Will send 
letters on to brother Mart as requested. Again let me 
thank you for your kindness in sending them for my 
perusal ; I do not tire of reading them over and over. 

''Sincerely yours, 

"Kate A. Lord." 

The next is from Dr. W. C. McCanon, a retired physi- 
cian, now of Moline, 111. 

"March 31, 1908. 

"My Old Friend and Brother : I was surprised and 
delighted to receive a letter from you. It recalled many 
pleasant reminiscences, in some of which you were a 
participant. We were the'" young men, with apparently 
bright prospects before us, some of which I have realized 
and others have been quite failures. 

"I have not kept track of many of the old students of 
Western College. Doctor Bobb and I have been in cor- 
respondence most of the time since leaving Western. I 
look upon him as one of God's noble men, a devout 
Christian, true as steel, one in whom I have great confi- 
dence and whom I delight to count as a friend and 
brother. 

"I, too, have led a busy life ; for over thirty-six years I 
have been a physician, but for the last five years I have 
not done much in my profession. I have always been an 
active church worker. Up to about twelve years ago I 
was identified with the Christian Church. About that 
time wife and I learned the way of the Lord more per- 
fectly and severed our connection with that church. Since 

91 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

then we have enjoyed ourselves religiously as we never 
did before. 

"We are glad to learn of your prosperity in temporal 
things, and also to note your interest in religious matters, 
which, as I look at things, is of superlative importance. 

"Remember me very kindly to your most excellent help- 
meet, of whose hospitality I was a partaker some fifteen 
or eighteen years ago, when in Emmetsburg, I dropped in 
on you unawares. 

"When convenient, I shall be pleased to hear from you 
again. Wife (once Mattie Bivins) and I heartily join 
in very kind regards and best wishes to you. 

"Sincerely your old friend and fellow schoolmate, 

"W. C. McCanon." 

Dr. D. Bobb, writer of the following letter, is now 
seventy-three years old, but active and capable as a man 
of forty. He is clean in life, sweet in spirit, and con- 
cerned only for the quality of his services, not for 
material rewards. He is a fine type of the devoted vil- 
lage physician whose presence in a community is a bene- 
diction and whose place can never be supplied when he 
is gone. 

"Dakota, III., April 22, 1908. 
""£. B. Soper, Esq., Emmetsburg, Iowa. 

"My Dear Old Friend and Brother : Yours of recent 
date, enclosing copy of Western College program fifty 
years ago and copies of letters from our mutual old 
friends, McCanon and Smith, received, for which accept 
my sincere thanks. Brother Smith sent the program to 
me to look at a number of years ago with the request 
to return it to him again. I had forgotten all ab6ut the 
matter until I ^aw the copy you sent rne. I was not so 

92 



Our Founders 

forethoughtful as you were, or I should also have made 
copies of the same. The program you sent me has un- 
covered quite a few names of Western students who had 
been covered up and almost forgotten by the cares and 
responsibilities of fifty years of time. The memory of 
the departed ones brings sadness to the heart, but the 
success of the living, with the memory of our association 
a half century ago, brings many pleasant reminiscences. 
It may seem rather strange that all the Western boys with 
whom I have come in contact — without exception — seem 
vigorous and young. 

"I was very glad to hear of your financial success, and 
above all that you were a Christian gentleman — the high- 
est type of manhood. I should enjoy seeing you and 
talking over old times. It would be very pleasant if we 
could have a reunion, were we not scattered so far from 
each other. 

"Shall always be pleased to hear from you when con- 
venient. Thanking you again for the copy of the pro- 
gram and the letters, believe me to be your sincere friend 
and brother, "D. B. Bobb." 

These reminders of the long ago must close with a 
letter from the Honorable Henry Lamm, member of the 
Supreme Court of the State of Missouri. It was written 
in generous response to a request for data and reminis- 
cences and is dated from the office of the Silpreme Court, 
State of Missouri, January 3, 1910. 

"My Dear Mr. Ward: Your last letter of inquiry is 
at hand. I think I wrote you about all the information 
I had. I looked over my brother's letters and tried to 
find my old school boy memoranda, but failed, and mem- 

93 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

ory plays fantastic tricks with all of us and can hardly 
be trusted on names and dates in a period so distant. 

"I came to Western College in 1863 and left there in 
the spring of 1865. My brother John was then attending 
school and I joined him when I was about sixteen years 
old. I think I remember Soper, but am not sure whether 
what I know about him was personal or from hearsay 
from John, who was a crony of his. Professor Jackson 
was the best scholar in the school and graduated while 
I was there. He was older than I, and should, by this 
time, have reached that delightful reminiscent age when 
the memory seems brightened for old times and old 
timers. 

:,,,"If you can get all he knows of Western College you 
should have the story in detail. Shuey was a big man 
to me. The Shueys lived a short distance out of the 
village on a big farm with a brick house, if I mistake not, 
and were leading people in the affairs of the College. If 
Oliver Hazard Perry Grove is alive he must be an ency- 
clopedia of knowledge, for he ran the college paper and 
had a knack of picking up fugitive facts and making his- 
tory of them. It seems to me the president's name was 
Davis. He was a solemn man and a good man, but he 
used a learned terminology — sesquipedalian words which 
I did not understand and doubt much whether I would 
apprehend the meaning of now; but he was sound in doc- 
trine without a doubt. Solomon Weaver was president and 
lived at Western when I was there, but I am inclined to 
think he had given way to Davis at the time. If you 
could get track of the Neidigs or the Perrys they would 
know nearly everything about the old times, and Mr. 
Ebersole should be able to put one on the trail of some 
of them unless they are dead. Some of the faces in my 

94 



Our Founders 

mind have no names. I remember a grizzled old bachelor 
from Galesburg, Illinois, with a German name. I think 
it was Heisey, or something like that. I remember some 
of the young ladies, but the "grasses on their graves have 
forty years been growing," and, for an old lawyer, the 
recollection of those girls is fit only for his dreams by 
the grate of a winter's night and not to spread on paper. 

"I wish you had stirred the matter up before my brother 
died. He was crippled with rheumatism, gave up busi- 
ness affairs, and for several years the delight of his life 
was to recall old scenes and past events. I remember now 
an entertainment in which, after the style of that day, 
there was a debate in regard to the boy up the apple tree 
and whether the farmer treated him right when he found 
him taking his apples. I think the event was preserved 
in that great history, 'Webster's Elementary Spelling 
Book.' Your humble servant defended the boy, and on 
that occasion I won my first round of popular applause. 
There comes to me now another event in which the great 
drama of Box and Cox was represented. Miss Emma 
Grove was Mrs. Bouncer and I was either Box or Cox, 
and for the life of me I can't remember which. Whether 
the discipline of the United Brethren Church permitted 
theatrical entertainments at the time escapes me, but they 
allowed us to play Box and Cox, and the brethren laughed 
over the troubles of B. and C. with the rashers of bacon 
and mutton chops. 

''Doubtless I could go on with the small beer of gossip 
of this sort page after page, but it is not plain to me how 
you could get any wheat out of such chaff for preserva- 
tion in the granary of your grave history of the College 
dear to us both which you are so carefully compiling. 



95 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

"You ask about myself. Well, I came to Western 
from Burbank, Ohio, and, in doing so, I made my first 
long railway journey and saw many wild ducks and 
geese on the marshy prairies west of the Mississippi. 
When I reached W^estern it was the muddiest town I ever 
saw. The mail was carried from Cedar Rapids in a 
hack and the horses were stalled several times. The 
chief newspaper taken in the town was the Chicago 
Evening Journal; one day this hack came in draped 
in mourning, and the aw^ful whisper ran around that 
Abraham Lincoln had been shot and killed by an assassin. 
I have seen and taken part in many events, but that was 
the most sorrowful time I ever saw. I don't know 
that I had ever seen men and women crying on the street 
before, nor did I ever see such savage feeling against 
those who had opposed the man or his measures as I saw 
directed against those who had criticised Mr. Lincoln. 
This only lasted for a few days, however. 

"I left Western for Michigan University in 1865, and 
have never been in the town since. Whether it is on the 
map now or not, you know, I don't. I entered the fresh- 
man class at M. U. in the fall of 1865, and graduated 
with the class of '69 with the degree of B. S. If I have 
received any degrees since then I know nothing of them, 
although I am somewhat familiar with degrees; for in- 
stance, degrees of courage and patience and perseverance. 
My brother John went with me, and at the time entered 
the law department. He spent a year in Ann Arbor, 
came to Missouri to practice law, but changed his mind 
and became a farmer. With my sheepskin in my pocket 
and parting songs sung, I came to Sedalia, Missouri, in 
1869. I taught school, studied law in the old-fashioned 
way, by going into an office, building the fires, sweeping 

96 




jj^ 






REV. M. S. DRURY 
General Financial Agent for many years and a most generous Donor. 




REV. W. M. BEARDSHEAR, D.D. 
President of We stern College through the Epoch Making Period of 1881 to 1889. 



Our Founders 

out and reading Blackstone, Kent, and the other 
fathers of the law under the supervision of active prac- 
titioners. Presently I became clerk of the circuit court, 
and in 1874 began practicing law in the firm of Sangree 
and Lamm. That partnership lasted thirty years. Dur- 
ing that time I was prosecuting attorney for four years 
and city attorney for a term. Finally, in 1904, I was 
elected to this bench and entered the office the first of 
January, 1905. 

"I think the foregoing answers your questions. I 
would like to attend your reunion to see if I could see 
an old face, but it comes at a period when my time is mort- 
gaged to my judicial duties. With kind regards, I am, 

"Yours sincerely, 
"January 3, 1910. "Henry Lamm." 



97 



Chapter V. 

EARLY FINANCES. AGENTS. FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES. 

In the last analysis the college problem resolves itself 
into a question of finance. Consecrated lives, lofty 
ideals, and riches of mind stuff are all vital, but these 
rest back for permanency upon a foundation of material 
resources. A college is a vast complicated business 
enterprise that cannot long be operated successfully with- 
out sound business, carried out by men endowed with 
business genius of the highest order. The founders of 
Western College had some sense of the business they 
were undertaking, but would have been appalled if they 
had guessed the whole truth. They were excellent men 
of superior talents in many ways, and some of them men 
of large practical sagacity, but with inadequate experience 
in the business of a college. It is amazing under the 
circumstances that they succeeded so well as they did. 

The plan adopted from the very first for the securing 
of funds was the employment of soliciting agents, who 
were usually assigned to different districts, and often 
were instructed to raise money for a specific purpose. 
Before the location of the College had been determined 
upon, the Shueyville community, in its eagerness to secure 
the College, sent out a number of volunteer solicitors. 
Rev. Solomon Weaver took the lead in this, and he was 
ably assisted by the Shueys, Jacob, W. H., and J. A., and 
by Adam Perry, John W. Henderson, and others. They 
secured donations in land and money, amounting to 

98 



Early Finances 

$6,000, which donation became available as soon as the 
College was located at Western. 

The first official solicitor was Rev. George Miller, 
appointed by the Iowa Conference in 1855, at the same 
time the first Board of Trustees was appointed. He, how- 
ever, on account of ill health, failed to take up the work, 
and the board, at its session at Lisbon, November 12, 
1855, appointed Rev. M. G. Miller, who apparently 
served until the next session of the conference; at that 
time Rev. Joseph Wickard was elected, and continued as 
traveling agent for several years. When, in the summer 
of 1856, Des Moines Conference decided to cooperate 
with Western College, Rev. R. Logan was elected travel- 
ing agent for that conference, a position which he filled 
acceptably two or three years. So far as a uniform 
policy regarding traveling agents prevailed in the early 
years, it seems to have been that each cooperating con- 
ference should have an agent either elected by the con- 
ference or appointed by the College, which agent should 
report quarterly to the treasurer of the College and 
annually to the Board of Trustees. Sometimes there 
were more agents, sometimes fewer, a numiber of sub- 
agents being appointed when an especial canvass was 
contemplated. 

In February, 1856, the Board elected Rev. Solomon 
Weaver resident agent, and charged him with numerous 
duties connected with the local business management — 
overseeing the erection of buildings, purchasing material, 
selling college lots, hiring teachers, and providing for the 
running expenses of the school after it should be opened. 
After he became president most of these duties were con- 
tinued, and from that day to the present they have con- 
tinued to adhere in some measure and one form or an- 

99 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

other to the presidency. Whatever time the resident 
agent could spare from the local management he was 
expected to spend as a soliciting agent away from home. 

Many of the early donations were gifts of land, either 
deeded to the College outright, or given for a small con- 
sideration. These gifts furnished revenue through sales 
at advancing prices, and offered an opportunity for build- 
ing a permanent source of income if the College had only 
been in a position to take advantage of the opportunity. 
Even as it was, considerable income was derived from 
this source, especially from the sale of lots in the town 
of Western. It will be remembered that a tract of land 
comprising 240 acres was presented to the College at 
first, intended for the site of the College, town, and farm. 
Seventeen acres in the center of the tract were set aside 
as the campus; surrounding this "College square" the 
town of Western was platted and the lots offered for 
sale at from twenty-five to fifty dollars each; adjoining 
the town site, lots of one acre were offered at one hundred 
dollars each. For the first few years, while the enter- 
prise was new and its friends eager, the sale of lots was 
most encouraging. 

That a few of the founders of the College had some 
glimmerings of the possibilities offered by cheap govern- 
ment lands is indicated by an editorial in the first number 
of the Western College Advocate, issued in July, 1856. 
The editorial is headed, "How to Save Money": 

*Tt is admitted on all hands that a college property 
worth less than one hundred thousand dollars will not 
meet the wants of our people in the west. Twenty-five 
thousand dollars of this we have already secured, leav- 
ing a balance of seventy-five thousand dollars to be raised 
by some means. The question then is, how shall we 

100 



Early Finances 

proceed in order to secure that balance? We answer, 
let twenty of our friends enter 160 acres of land each; 
thirty enter 80 acres each; forty enter 40 acres each; 
fifty more, every two united, enter 40 acres each; sixty 
more, every four united, enter 40 acres; seventy-two 
more, every eight united, enter 40 acres each, all in the 
name of Western College. Now in order to enter the 
above amount of land, it only requires eleven thousand 
dollars, and we are very sanguine in the opinion that in 
less than six years we should be able to report to the 
people a collge worth one hundred thousand dollars. We 
hope our people will think of this ; two men have already 
pledged themselves for one hundred and sixty acres each. 
We expect to call attention to this in the future." 

Government land at that time could be purchased for 
$1.25 an acre; so the dream was not an idle one that 
eleven thousand dollars so invested might in six years 
increase to seventy-five thousand dollars. If the sug- 
gestion of the editor had been carried out, and the Col- 
lege had been able to keep the land, a permanent and 
ever-increasing income would thus have been provided, 
and the College would now be in possession of an endow- 
ment of more than a million dollars from that source 
alone, to say nothing of the other great opportunities 
such a substantial backing would have brought. If the 
College could have held the greater part of the lands that 
actually came into its possession it might now be upon 
solid financial foundation. Within ten or fifteen years 
of its founding the College either held or had held title 
to several thousand acres of good Iowa and Illinois land 
worth to-day one hundred to two hundred dollars an acre. 
Perhaps it was inevitable under the circumstances that 
these lands had to be sacrificed to present necessities^ — 

tOi 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

they were, in fact, given in each instance to meet a present 
emergency, such as the erection of a building or the 
paying of a pressing obligation already incurred. 

Another unfortunate step in the early finances of the 
College, but likewise due to the exigencies of the under- 
taking, was the policy of borrowing money to meet the 
present needs. At the third meeting of the Board, held 
in the Sugar Creek schoolhouse, December 24, 1855, that 
meeting at which the location of the College was deter- 
mined, a resolution was passed providing "That Brother 
Shuey be engaged to go back east to borrow $10,000 at a 
reasonable rate of interest for a term of at least three 
years for the use of Western College." This step was 
taken because cash was needed to erect and equip a 
college building. New enterprises often mortgage the 
future by borrowing money for first equipment, and in 
the end gain by the added efiiciency thus gained; when 
the enterprise is wholly benevolent, however, and must 
depend entirely upon future gifts for meeting all its 
obligations, the policy of borrowing money is a dangerous 
one to adopt. In this particular case, the obligation thus 
assumed remained for years a serious embarrassment to 
the College and a heavy burden to Father Shuey, who had 
borrowed the money on his own good name and had be- 
come responsible for its payment. 

In the records of another meeting of the Board, held in 
the new town of Western, October 9, 1856, are found 
two rather quaintly worded resolutions: 

''That the Board of Trustees of Des Moines Conference 
be requested to borrow instanter one thousand dollars 
for the use of Western College." 

"That the Board of Iowa Conference be required to 
borrow one thousand dollars for the use of Western." 

102 



Early Finances 

These amounts, presumably, the conferences were ex- 
pected to assume and then proceed to raise among the 
membership, a policy not so bad in itself, as the sense of 
obligation would stimulate to effort, but the College was 
acquiring the habit of borrowing as a quick way to secure 
ready cash. 

At the first annual meeting of the Board, in June, 1857, 
the question of borrowing money was again pressing for 
answer, and the resident agent suggested, as the matter 
was of such grave importance, "It be made the subject of 
deliberation and prayer until to-morrow morning." In 
the morning the Board ordered that the agents proceed 
immediately to procure a loan at a rate not to exceed 
fifteen per cent, per annum. George Miller, M. G. 
Miller, and J. Neidig were made a committee to corres- 
pond with a view of effecting the loan in the east. A 
year later the Board instructed the resident agent to secure 
a loan in order to pay off the debts of the institution and 
to make improvements. So on and on, and meanwhile 
occasions for borrowing multiplied and the habit became 
chronic. The good men in charge of the school did the 
best they could under the circumstances and resorted to 
borrowing only when they felt themselves forced to it, 
and then only to "tide over" the present emergency. In 
this Western was but repeating the history of practically 
all denominational schools, yet the endless struggle for 
release and the ever-renewed hope that Providence would 
somehow open the way to meet the new obligation make 
a story of no less pathos merely because it tells a common 
experience. Not until very recent years did the College 
escape entirely from the policy. 

In some respects the time of launching Western College 
was not the most happy in a business sense. Plans were 

103 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

laid, obligations assumed, and building enterprises 
begun in the latter part of 1855 and during 1856, years 
of general prosperity and of great promise for Iowa be- 
cause of the westward movement of immigration at that 
time. Then came the panic of 1857 and the consequent 
embarrassment of all who assumed large obligations when 
times seemed flourishing. The Western College enter- 
prise, however, had started with so much earnestness and 
energy and had acquired so much momentum that it seems 
to have felt the general depression less even than did most 
purely business concerns. The Western College Advo- 
cate, for November, 1857, speaks hopefully, almost tri- 
umphantly; yet one can read between the lines a touch 
of concern : 

"The unsettled state of financial matters has made sad 
work with many laudable public and private enterprises. 
Whilst every department of business is more or less 
affected by the present monetary derangement, we feel 
thankful to the Great Giver of all good gifts for the 
unparalleled prosperity that has smiled so propitiously 
upon our young institution. While the uncounted wealth 
of corporations and individuals has been destroyed by the 
great financial storm of 1857, our College, commenced 
here with so much energy and zeal, still moves safely, 
acquiring every day an influence that will tell favorably 
for the interests of the Church in aiding her to advance 
more effectually the cause of the gospel, as well as assist 
in the great cause of education in the northwest — a cause 
which is enlisting the energies, time, and talents of some 
of our best men. 

*Tt is not our purpose to write a mere puff, and we are 
glad too that it is not our lot, as the organ of the College, 
to bolster up a sinking concern. Our sphere for opera- 

104 



Early Finances 

tion is widening. Western College is now backed by the 
influence of Des Moines, Iowa, Rock River, Illinois, and 
Minnesota conferences — five in number — of the United 
Brethren Church. These conferences cover a territory 
possessing a soil as rich as the sun ever shone on, and 
with their educational interests centered in one institution, 
we cannot fail, with proper management, to build up a 
college that will be an honor to the Church and promote 
the cause of education. 

"The most sanguine expectations of the few friends, 
who were instrumental in setting the College on foot, have 
been more than realized. Our agents are meeting with 
good success, and we are glad that such a universal inter- 
est has sprung up in regard to the College. Many 
prayers have been offered for its success, and we believe, 
with God's aid, it will accomplish the end for which it 
was founded." 

Some idea of how successful the College had been in 
acquiring a substantial footing in those days of small 
beginnings may be gathered from the official statement of 
possessions, resources, and liabilities issued in January, 
1858, just one year after the opening of the school. The 
list is as follows : 

College square, 17 acres $ 1,700.00 

Primary Building 10,000.00 

15 lots, one acre each 1,125.00 

College Farm, 160 acres 3,200.00 

130 lots, 40 acres 5,200.00 

College timber, 120 acres 1,440.00 

Land in Cedar County, 160 acres 1,600.00 

Land in Linn County, 60 acres 600 . 00 

Town lots in Lisbon 200 . 00 

Town lots in different places 200 . 00 

105 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

Limestone quarry and 20 acres land 300.00 

College team 225 .00 

Notes and subscriptions 16,000.00 

Total $41,790.00 

Liabilities 6,850.00 

Balance in favor of College $ 34,940.00 

Taking into account that the estimates of real estate, 
though evidently conservative, are only estimates, and 
making due allowances for shrinkage in notes and sub- 
scriptions the showing is still a good one for that day. 
A report made to the Board in June, 1862, shows : 

Permanent College Property. 

College square and buildings $ 25,000.00 

Limekiln and 74 acres of land 800.00 

Farm and timber 5,000.00 

Teams 400.00 

Farm implements '. 500.00 

Printing office 1,000.00 

Library 400.00 

Total $33,100.00 

Assets Available for Paying Debts. 

Notes in treasury $ 11,200.00 

Land 4,000.00 

Town lots in Western 2,000.00 

Acre lots in Western. 1,000.00 

Nursery 1,200.00 

Lots in other towns 400 . 00 

Total $19,900.00 

College liabilities 12,500.00 

Net assets $ 7,400.00 

106 



Early Finances 

This was probably not excelled during all the years the 
College remained at Western. Some additions were 
made to buildings and equipment, and there was a natural 
increase in the value of real estate, yet when trying times 
came and it was found expedient to change the location 
of the College, a considerable portion of this "permanent 
property" had already gone to pay debts and the re- 
mainder sold for but a fraction of the appraisement given 
in this schedule. Besides, the notes and subscriptions in 
the treasury depreciated more and more as the years 
went by, while the liabilities not only failed to depreciate, 
but increased periodically by accumulations of interest 
and running expenses, insomuch that by the time the 
decision for removal was reached the material possessions 
of the College could be represented by a minus quantity. 

Up to the outbreak of the Civil War the success of the 
young institution was most gratifying to its friends and 
full of promise for the future. It had financial difficulties 
and perhaps made some financial mistakes, but these were 
necessary incidents in a new enterprise under untried con- 
ditions. With the absorption of thought and interest in 
the approaching crisis and the depressing effect of actual 
war, the College suffered most severely both in attendance 
and in financial support. These were the times that tried 
men's souls not only in civil strife that threatened the life 
of the nation, but also in concern for the domestic insti- 
tutions that were designed to shed benediction upon home 
and community. 

The College authorities strove manfully to meet the 
crisis in the life of the school. The regular soliciting 
agents, Joseph Manning and A. A. Sellers, later J. Good- 
win and J. Y. Jones, did heroic work in trying to secure 
funds, and when the situation grew more desperate, tem- 

107 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

porary agents were sent out to canvass smaller districts. 
At one time a number of collecting agents were sent out to 
collect old notes and subscriptions, with large discretion 
in making discounts as an inducement for present settle- 
ment. Lands and other salable property of the College 
were sold and the proceeds applied to paying urgent 
claims. In 1863 the Board borrowed one thousand dollars 
to pay pressing debts. Finally the College farm, instead 
of reporting a good yearly profit as before, began to 
report a deficit. It was abandoned as a College enterprise, 
rented, and later sold at a small price. Good Iowa 
land was sacrificed for as low as five and six dollars an 
acre. The limekiln and adjoining land had already gone. 
Loans were pressing for payment, and the College, unable 
to pay, had to plead for an extension of time. Teachers, 
no longer receiving their salaries even in trade and farm 
products, but paid in College notes, part of which they 
found it expedient afterwards to donate, resigned after 
short terms of service, except Professor Bartlett, who 
remained loyally from 1857 to 1867. 

The prospects of the College reached low-water mark 
about 1867, the time when even Professor Bartlett lost 
hope and quit. This may be regarded as one of the 
three crisal moments the College has been called on to 
pass through, moments when life and death hung in the 
balance. That the College survived, and in each case 
went on to larger and stronger life, argues the tenacious 
vitality of institutions founded on such principles as was 
this. The year 1868 marked the turning of the tide for 
the better. This transition period has been sufficiently 
discussed in connection with the name of Professor E. C. 
Ebersole, who happened to be the available man for this 
hour of need. Before tracing the struggles and successes 

108 



Early Finances 

of the next period, it seems desirable to devote a chapter 
to the loyal patriotism of the College as displayed during 
the Civil War. 



109 



Chapter VI. 

THE PATRIOTISM OF WESTERN. FIRST ENLIST- 
MENT. IN WAR TIMES. WHEN THE WAR WAS 
OVER. western's ROLL OF HONOR. 

It was but natural that colleges of both north and south 
should be hotbeds of zeal for their respective sections. 
Colleges are built on ideals, among them lofty ideals of 
patriotism and service. Youth, even when isolated, is 
spontaneously enthusiastic and quick to respond to ap- 
peals for sacrifices and serious risks in behalf of a noble 
cause ; youth in mass and under the unifying influence of 
an earnest college atmosphere responds with irresistible 
enthusiasm to what it believes to be the challenge of a 
conflict between honor and dishonor. 

The people who had gathered about the College of 
Western were, like the Pilgrim Fathers, ardently devoted 
to liberty under a rule of righteousness. Like the Pil- 
grims, too, they had come to this western land for its 
larger opportunities and its promises of larger freedom. 
They had come from New England, from Virginia, and 
all the region between these and the Mississippi, yet all 
alike were anti-slavery in sentiment and staunch sup- 
porters of the Union. Such a people naturally took a 
warm interest in the agitations that preceded the war, 
and their young men were ready for deeds of heroism. 
How the students of Western responded to the first call 
to arms can be learned from the following extract from 
a paper, "In War Time," read at the quadrennial pro- 
gram, at Toledo, Iowa, June 8, 1910, by Captain E. B. 
Soper, one of Western's first volunteers. 

110 



The Patriotism of Western 

"Suddenly the tocsin of war called us all from our 
sports and books to face the loaded muskets and belching 
cannon. 

"The atmosphere of Western, both town and College, 
as might have been expected from the doctrine of the 
Church and influence of the faculty trained at Oberlin, 
was decidedly anti-slavery. 

"The encroachments of the slave power caused the 
formation of the Republican Party in 1856, whose first 
candidate for President, John C. Fremont, so nearly 
defeated the Democratic candidate, James Buchanan. 
The struggle to make Kansas a slave State, with its out- 
rages and villainies, aroused the public conscience in the 
north, and made possible in 1860 the election of Abraham 
Lincoln. Slavery saw its doom in that the people decreed 
that no additional slave territory should be permitted. 
Slave State after slave State passed ordinances of seces- 
sion, and proclaimed its withdrawal from the Union, and 
not yet satisfied, proceeded to make war on the United 
States by bombardment of Ft. Sumpter and Charleston 
Harbor. 

"It is difficult, if not impossible, after so many decades 
of peace and harmony, for those of this generation to 
realize the conditions following the firing on Ft. Sumpter, 
April 12 and 13, 1861. The whole country went wild 
with excitement. When, on April 15, 1861, President 
Lincoln issued his proclamation calling for 75,000 vol- 
unteers for three months, the tidal wave of feeling carried 
everything before it. Every city, town, and hamlet in the 
land became at once a recruiting station. The fife and 
drum were heard everywhere calling the nation to arms. 

"The singing of the 'Star Spangled Banner' and The 
Sword of Bunker Hill' struck a chord that brought audi- 

111 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

ences everywhere to their feet, followed by cheer after 
cheer. 

"On the evening of the sixteenth of April, 1861, the 
ringing of the College bell at Western brought to the 
College chapel an excited audience of faculty, students, 
and citizens. Representatives from Cedar Rapids were 
present. They brought intelligence of the President's 
proclamation and that Iowa was asked to furnish one 
thousand men ; that Governor Kirkwood had announced 
that a company from Linn County would be accepted if 
promptly tendered; that a company was in process of 
formation at Cedar Rapids, a few more men were needed 
to complete the requisite number, and volunteers were 
being called for. 

"After speeches by President Weaver and others, an 
enlistment roll was produced and signed by the following 
students : George C. Fuhrmeister, Alfred D. Collier, 
Wm. G. Eckles, Edwin R. McKee, E. B. Soper, Benj. F. 
Whistler, John Van Meter, and John R. Van Arsdale. 

"We knew little of war or its dangers. We had vol- 
unteered to go to war, where we were to shoot and be 
shot at. Every one expected, of course, we would all be 
killed, or worse, and the days preceding our departure 
for the rendezvous were solemn ones. 

"Our preparations completed, we were ordered to join 
our company. A solemn gathering and formal farewell 
were had in the College chapel, and earnest prayers were 
offered for our preservation. In a farm wagon, with 
boards across the top of the box for seats, eight dejected 
patriots started for Cedar Rapids. 

"Of the eight men who, that April, forty-nine years ago, 
rode in a lumber wagon the eight miles from Western 
to Cedar Rapids, only four are living: Collier, McKee, 

112 



The Patriotism of Western 

Whistler, and Soper. Of the remaining four, three died 
in military service, viz. : Eckles, of typhoid fever in 
Missouri, taken sick on the return march after the battle ; 
Fuhrmeister, then captain of Company C, 25th Iowa 
Infantry, fell in action at Yellow Bayou, La., May 18, 
1864; and Van Meter, then captain of Company A, 18th 
Iowa Infantry, fell in January, 1863, defending a rebel 
assault at Springfield, Mo. ; and Van Arsdale died peace- 
fully at his home after the war." 

So much for the first enlistment and the first group of 
student volunteers. 

Other enlistments occurred at different times during 
the war until the whole number of students and professors 
enlisted reached one hundred and fourteen. Such was 
the earnestness and patriotism with students and teachers 
responding to the various calls for volunteers that at one 
time it is said, only one able-bodied man of military age 
was left in the entire student body, and he refrained from 
enlisting only because he was at that time a county com- 
missioner in Johnson County, then seat of the State capi- 
tol, and Governor Kirkwood — the famous "War Gover- 
nor" — urged him to remain in order to maintain a Repub- 
lican majority on the commission and thus insure support 
of the Governor's war measures. School interests of all 
kinds necessarily suffered greatly, and at times it seemed 
that the school must suspend altogether. 

If the community was deeply interested in the war 
before because of the principles involved, interest became 
painfully intense now that sons, brothers, lovers, hus- 
bands, and fathers were in the thick of the strife. Patri- 
otic meetings, speeches, and songs kept the community 
in a fever of loyal enthusiasm. Governor Kirk- 
wood, grateful for this stronghold of patriotism, came 

113 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

several times to the College chapel to address the citizens 
on the state of the country. The Board often paused in 
the midst of its harassing perplexities to give expression 
to its undying patriotism. In the minutes of June 24, 
1862, are recorded the following resolutions, action on 
which were taken at an appointed hour in the afternoon 
after a number of stirring speeches and before a large 
gathering of students and citizens. 

"Resolved, That although with sorrow for the necessity 
which has called them forth, it is with a feeling of satis- 
faction and pride that we have seen the students of our 
College so nobly testify upon the battle field their devotion 
to their country and the cause of freedom, and our heart- 
felt sympathy is extended to them in their trials and to 
the friends and relatives of those who have fallen in their 
affliction and bereavement." 

"Whereas, Our country is involved in a bloody war 
waged against freedom and equal rights and for the per- 
petuity of human bondage, therefore, 

"Resolved, That we, the trustees of Western College, 
sympathize with the Government in its efforts to crush 
out this unholy rebellion and will ever aid by our prayers, 
our money, and, if need be, by physical force, to the end 
that the cause may finally be removed and peace restored 
in all our borders." 

"Resolved, That we join heartily with the faculty and 
students of Western College in sympathizing with the 
students who have left their studies for the more arduous 
labors of the camp life, and will ever pray for their suc- 
cess and safe return to the bosom of their friends." 

Again, in July, 1863, just after the battle of Gettysburg, 
the following appears on record : 

114 



The Patriotism of Western 

^'^Resolved, That our hearts respond with gratitude to 
God for the pleasing intelHgence which greets our ears to 
the effect that the Union forces are gaining very signal 
and decisive victories over the rebel marauders in Penn- 
sylvania; and we pray God that continued victories may 
perch upon the Union banners until the last rebel shall be 
captured, and the old flag float in triumph over the entire 
land." 

The most poignant interest after all was personal. 
This is the way a girl who lived through it all remembers 
it : "Being away from the railroad the war news did not 
reach us until the hack brought the mail about four 
o'clock every day. Then men would be seen wending 
their way from all over town to hear the latest from the 
seat of war. Dr. W. B. Wagner would read aloud from 
the Cedar Rapids dailies or from the Chicago Tribune, and 
every one went home to spread the war news broadcast. 
Many a poor mother whose heart yearned for news from 
her boy, haunted the post office day after day to learn 
how it went with him." After a battle, newspaper lists 
of the dead and wounded were scanned with painful 
interest to see whether the names of friends could be 
found there; often the heart of the searcher stopped at 
the sudden appearance of a familiar name in such lists 
or among the hospital deaths. The home of President 
Weaver was thus made desolate because a stalwart soldier 
boy would never return. The homes of Adam Perry, 
J. Berger, and many others passed under the same 
shadow. 

Special mention should be made of the "Students' 
Company," being Company D, in the 44th Iowa. The 
company was made up of students from Western, Cornell, 
and the State University of Iowa. That such a company 

115 



Western — Leander-Clark College' 



i>' 



should be formed is in itself a testimony to the ardor of 
student patriotism. 

As the war dragged out its dreadful length and the 
heart of the nation grew sick with longing for the deso- 
lation to cease, the people at home gave more and more 
of their solicitude and of their means to relieve war's 
cursed aftermath — the pain of wounds, the distress of 
crippled bodies, the ravages of disease, and the destitution 
of widows and orphans. Citizens of Western responded 
again and again to the calls of the vSanitary Commission 
for medicines, lint, bandages, and jellies for the sick and 
wounded, and often collected and sent forward clothing, 
blankets. Bibles, and other good literature to the boys 
both in the hospitals and in the field. Contributions for 
these purposes were always in order; occasionally money 
was raised by entertainments. One such was a mush 
and milk social; the mush was made at the home of 
Doctor Wagner, the milk was donated by other citizens, 
and the people gladly paid twenty-five cents each to help 
swell the funds of the Commission. Once only was the 
generosity of the good people imposed upon. The inci- 
dent is told by Mrs. S. J. Staves. "A rebel spy, or rather 
impostor, came to town one day, claiming to be a Union 
man from Mobile, Alabama, who had been forced to leave 
home because of his Union sentiments. He was raising 
money to assist others situated as he had been, and to 
get his, wife and family away from there to a place of 
safety. He was a glib talker and a fiery patriot, and at 
last, calling loudly on all to sing 'Rally Round the Flag, 
Boys,' he led the singing wildly gesticulating, and when 
the people were wrought up to a frenzy of patriotism he 
called for a collection. Fifty dollars was the amount con- 
tributed, if my memory serves me rightly. He was appre- 

116 



The Patriotism of Western 

hended at Clinton just before getting out of the State, 
and rather than be taken, shot himself, so the newspapers 
said." 

Finally the cheering news came that Lee had sur- 
rendered and that the awful struggle was near its end. 
Naturally there was great rejoicing and devout thanks- 
giving among a people who had given so freely and suf- 
fered so severely as had the people at Western. Then 
one April day, almost exactly four years after that other 
April day made memorable by the first enlistment of 
Western students, the hack came in from Cedar Rapids, 
draped in mourning, and soon the word was passed in 
awed undertones from lip to lip that Lincoln had been 
assassinated. As the rumor spread, men and women 
crowded around the post office or filled the streets in ex- 
cited groups, most of them openly weeping either from 
uncontrollable anger or from hopeless sorrow. The first 
tidal wave of feeling was one of fiery indignation and 
resentment against the South and against those in the 
North who had opposed Lincoln and thus helped to make 
the present calamity possible, and the impulse was to rise 
as one man and help grind to powder all the enemies of 
Lincoln. In a few days, however, after it became evident 
that the assassination was not the result of a conspiracy on 
the part of the South and their sympathizers to gain by 
treachery what they had failed to gain by force, but 
was the work of a half-crazed actor and a few irrespon- 
sible accomplices, feeling at Western as all over the North 
quieted down into a calm of settled sorrow. 

After the war closed and the soldier boys returned 
home, so many of them flocked to school at Western that 
town and College suddenly experienced a great trans- 
formation. Classes that had been composed of yotrng 

117 



Western — Leander-Clark College 



ii' 



women and two or three striplings, were now made up 
largely of bronze-cheeked men who walked with military 
precision. One or two teachers, having completed their 
term of enlistment, returned and took up the work of 
instruction. Masculine voices again dominated about the 
hallways and campus and in song at the chapel hour. 
Joy that the war was over and that the soldier boys were 
back in school led the officers of the College for a time 
to forget the distressed condition of college finances and 
the slight prospect of adequate relief in the near future. 

There was som_e apprehension at first lest the boys from 
the army should bring to the school the rude manners 
and vicious practices of the camp and thus prove a con- 
tamination. Quite the contrary, however, occurred, as a 
more earnest and orderly body of young men could not 
have been found anywhere. Furthermore, in the winter 
of 1866, occurred the greatest religious awakening that 
Western ever experienced. President William Davis, 
the "Old Man Eloquent" of Iowa, was pastor at the time, 
perhaps the most powerful preacher in the Church in the 
West. The revival started on a certain quarterly meet- 
ing occasion ; it seemed to spring up spontaneously among 
the young men in their rooms one evening. When the 
time for service arrived, they formed a procession and 
marched singing to the chapel ; then two and two up the 
aisle and filled the altar, still singing until the presiding 
elder, remarking, "There is no need of preaching to- 
night," gave the invitation at once. Numbers dropped at 
the altar where they stood, and others rushed forward 
until thirty were kneeling, most of whom were converted 
that night. 

On the fourth of May, following the great religious 
awakening, came the saddest possible ending to a day 

11$ 



The Patriotism of Western 

begun in merrymaking, an accident that brought crushing 
grief to three homes and cast a deeper gloom over the 
whole community than even the most serious events of 
the war had produced. A merry party of students went 
out from Western for a day's fishing in the Cedar River 
at a point near Esquire Snyder's, four miles below Cedar 
Rapids. Four of the party, Ezra Davis, lately returned 
from the war, and his sister, Mary, son and daughter of 
President Davis, Miss Anna Risinger, an only daughter 
from Forreston, Illinois, and John C. Chamberlain, a 
returned soldier from North Bend, Iowa, got into a skiff 
and rowed out into the stream. The skiff was very light 
and a slight movement caused it to dip water, thereby 
sinking the hinder part and throwing the occupants into 
the water. All four were drowned. The bodies of Ezra 
Davis and Miss Risinger were recovered that day, but the 
other two were not found for several days. A messenger 
carried the news to President Davis at Western, and he 
started in haste to meet the sorrowful procession. The 
first wagon he met contained the body of his son, his 
living daughter, Lou, hysterical with grief and utterly 
uncontrollable, and others of the party. Though almost 
crushed, and with tears streaming down his kindly face, 
he reached out his hand to his daughter and exclaimed, 
"Well, Lucina, the Lord gave and the Lord hath taken 
away; blessed be the name of the Lord." That day is 
not likely to be forgotten by any who experienced its sad 
occurrence. 

Soon after the close of the war the trustees of the 
College tried repeatedly to give due recognition to services 
rendered by the students in the nation's hour of need. 
At one time it was a resolution of thankfulness that the 
College "has lived through the fiery ordeal of our nation's 

m 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

affliction, and has not only witnessed, but to an unpre- 
cedented extent aided in her triumph over secession and 
rebelHon, having furnished more soldiers for the Union 
cause in proportion to the number of her students than 
any other institution of learning in the United States, as 
we learn from their published statistics, and not one 
soldier for the rebellion." Again, and more to the point, 
the trustees started a fund for educating wounded and 
indigent soldiers, and the children of such soldiers, and 
this they did when the College needed every dollar it could 
get for the paying of the pressing debts of the institution. 
It has been left, however, till the present day for the 
College to erect a permanent memorial to the memory of 
those of her sons who enlisted in their country's service. 
The movement was started a few years ago by President 
C. J. Kephart, seconded by Col. A. D. Collier and Mrs. 
S. J. Staves. Now, through the generous gifts of Mrs. 
Adam Shambaugh, Mrs. S. J. Staves, and Mrs. John 
Shambaugh, and special favors from the manufacturers, 
Krebs Brothers, of Cedar Rapids, a beautiful bronze 
tablet, inscribed with the name and regiment of each 
Western College teacher and student who served in any 
part of the war, has been placed on the wall of the chapel 
among the pictures of former presidents of the College, 
and side by side with a tablet commemorating the magnifi- 
cent gifts of Major Clark, Andrew Carnegie, and other 
donors. Thus the College pays the tribute of grateful 
recognition not only to its material benefactors, but as 
well to those who have bequeathed it a sacred heritage of 
patriotism. The names inscribed upon this distinguished 
roll of honor, collected with infinite pains by Mrs. Staves,' 
are as follows : 



120 



The Patriotism of Western 



CIVIL WAR SOLDIERS 

WHO WERE 

STUDENTS OF WESTERN COLLEGE. 

Erastus B. Soper Co. K, 1st la. 

Edwin E. McKee Co. K, 1st la. 

George C. Fuhrmeister Co. K, 1st la. 

Benjamin F. Whistler Co. K, 1st la. 

John R. Vanarsdale Co. K, 1st la. 

Daniel Dernes Co. K, 1st la. 

A. B. Reeves Co. K, 1st la. 

Joseph Van Meter Co. K, 1st la. 

William Walt Co. K, 1st la. 

Alfred D. Collier Co. K, 1st la. 

David Secor Co. C, 2d la. 

John F. Hemperly Co. G, 2d la. 

Thomas F. Cochran Co. F, 4th la. 

F. W. Scott Co. F, 4th la. 

W. B. Thompson 7th la. 



Thomas S. Free. Co. C 

Gillum S. Tolliver Co. K 

Madison C. Staves Co. K 

Miller Tallman Co. K 

Warren W. Meeker Co. A 

Martin Shellabarger Co. A 

P. B. Zuver Co. D 

Allen M. Blanchard Co. D 

John H. Weaver Co. D 

Charks E. Putnam • • -Co. G 

Wallace W. Watkins Co. H 

Joseph Legore Co. F 

Isaac Berger Co. F 

William G. Berger Co. F 

Alvin Baker Co. F 

121 



10th la. 
10th la. 
11th la. 
11th la. 
11th la. 
11th la. 
12th la. 
12th la. 
12th la. 
13th la. 
13th la. 
14th la. 
14th la. 
14th la. 
14th la. 



Western — Leander-Clark Colleze 



&' 



Samuel Ehrhart Co. F, 14th la. 

George Richardson Co. F, 14th la. 

Benjamin Rainford Co. F, 14th la. 

William Weaver Co. F, 14th la. 

Uriah Wumbaugh .Co. F, 14th la. 

Silas W. M. Grove Co. E, 15th la. 

Henry Ingham 16th la. 

William P. Henderson Co. H, 18th la. 

Manson R. Jordan Co. F, 20th la. 

Alcinus Weaver Co. H, 20th la. 

A. M. Menson 20th la. 

Aaron Rucker Co. A, 20th la. 

John C. Shrader Co. H, 22d la. 

James L. Perry Co. H, 22d la. 

Adam Leibernecht Co. H, 22d la. 

William O. Beam Co. H, 22d la. 

William H. Stiles Co. H, 22d la. 

WilHam H. Hastings Co. H, 22d la. 

Robert G. Shuey Co. H, 22d la. 

Jacob Bollenbaugh Co. H, 22d la. 

George Shockley Co. H, 22d la. 

Joseph Chandler Co. H, 22d la. 

Gabriel M. Huffman Co. H, 22d la. 

Charles H. Weed Co. H, 22d la. 

Edward Goodison Co. H, 22d la. 

John Lamm Co. H, 22d la. 

Henry Lamm Co. H, 22d la. 

Alex. E. Stewart Co. H, 22d la. 

Mathias W. Stover Co. K, 22d la. 

Sylvester S. Dillman. Co. E, 24th la. 

John C. Chamberlain Co. E, 28th la. 

Jeremiah W. Hook Co. F, 30th la. 

Joseph Blakeslee Co. G, 31st la, 

122 



The Patriotism of Western 

James Blakeslee Co. G, 31st la. 

Isaac Anderson Co. A, 31st la. 

George L. Burdick Co. A, 33d la. 

Oliver Schee Co. A, 33d la. 

George Burmeister Co. E, 35th la. 

Abram A. Snyder Co. E, 35th la. 

James S. Kelley Co. F, 35th la. 

John C. Eckles Co. F, 35th la. 

James C. Lowery Co. G, 36th la. 

Benjamin B. Griffith 40th la. 

Ezra C. Ebersole Co. D, 44th la. 

Daniel McKellar Co. D, 44th la. 

Robert F. Townley Co. D, 44th la. 

William R. Horn Co. D, 44th la. 

M. A. Baumgardner Co. D, 44th la. 

James M. Hartley Co. D, 44th la. 

Benjamin H. Heminger Co. D, 44th la. 

John H. Jenkins Co. D, 44th la. 

Benjamin F. Manbeck Co. D, 44th la. 

Abram H. Neidig Co. D, 44th la. 

John H. Sniveley Co. D, 44th la. 

James H. Stewart Co. D, 44th la. 

Leander Darling Co. D, 44th la. 

James H. Vandever Co. D, 44th la. 

William Willey Co. D, 44th la. 

Edwin H. Smith Co. D, 44th la. 

Martin B. Weaver Co. D, 44th la. 

John G. Rittgers Co. I, 44th la. 

Silas W. Hopkins Co. H, 44th la. 

Sylvester Kinney Co. K, 44th la. 

James P. Meredith Co, F, 44th la. 

Homer R. Page Co. B, 46th I^. 

H. B. Watters Co. G, 2d la. Cav. 

123 



Western — Leander-Clark Colleger 



&' 



Jacob Haight Co. G, 2d la. Cav. 

William S. Perry Co. H, 2d la. Cav. 

Jacob K. Wagner Co. H, 2d la. Cav. 

Ellis W. Lamm Co. H, 2d la. Cav. 

J. N. W. Rumple Co. H, 2d la. Cav. 

E. J. Boget Co. H, 2d la. Cav. 

John I. Johnson Co. E, 4th la. Cav. 

George H. Bollenbaugh .... Co. E, 4th la. Cav. 

Oliver P. Cohoe Co. B, 8th 111. 

Ezra C. Davis Co. I, 54th 111. 

John H. Henry .Co. H, 93d 111. 

I. L. Kephart 21st Pa. 

Henry Sheak Co. I, 19th Ohio. 

Regiments Unknown. 
John H. Shea. 
John Allison. 
Edward Little. 
Henry Coleman. 



124 



Chapter VIL 

DAWN OF A NEW ERA. PRESIDENT E. B. KEPHART. 
LARGER ATTENDANCE. INCREASING FINANCIAL EM- 
BARRASSMENT. 

The year 1868 has already been characterized as a 
period of transition. Up to that time the College had 
not been able to escape from the feeling that perhaps 
the institution itself was still an experiment, and each 
new year and each new experiment a kind of temporary 
makeshift to be superseded by something more perma- 
nent as soon as that better thing could be attained. The 
sense of uncertainty and change was greatly aggravated 
during the trying times of the Civil War and the two 
or three years following. Teachers and officers changed 
frequently and the College was forced to practice a hand- 
to-mouth policy in financial matters. In a moment of 
desperation, in 1866, the executive committee had issued 
a kind of ultimatum to the citizens that they must raise 
four thousand dollars, suggesting by implication, at 
least, that if this were not done the College would be com- 
pelled to move to a more favorable location. Though 
the people of Western rallied gallantly, as they had so 
often done before, and were destined to do again, they 
felt much aggrieved at the suggestion of removal, and 
were pacified only when the Board, at its next meeting, 
gave positive assurance that the College should remain 
at Western. 

By the end of 1868 a firmer courage and a surer 
hope began to take possession of the friends of the Col- 
lege. They had seen their institution pass through a 

125 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

severe crisis and begin to show signs of reviving vigor. 
Students home from the war returned to school in larger 
numbers, bringing other students with them. The inter- 
nal affairs of school seem to have been more satisfactory 
now than at any other time since the "golden days" before 
the war. The first resolution in a long list offered at the 
board meeting, in June, 1868, is : 

"Resolved, That we are filled with delight in witnessing 
the greatly improved condition of the College buildings, 
and that we are not now ashamed to have strangers visit 
our institution, and can, with confidence, invite students 
to make it a place for the procurement of useful knowl- 
edge." 

Other resolutions commended the present faculty, es- 
pecially in the matter of discipline. It will be remem- 
bered that this is the year in which Principal Ebersole 
tried the experiment of dispensing with formal rules. 

Finally it was resolved, "That we remember the mis- 
takes of the past only to avoid them in the future, and 
that we begin anew the work of building Western College, 
and that in the undertaking we aim at nothing less than 
an institution equal and, if possible, superior to any in 
the northwest." 

''Resolved, That we proceed to elect a permanent fac- 
ulty consisting of : 

"1. A president, who shall also be Professor of 
Mental and Moral Science. 

"2. A professor of Latin and Greek. 

"3. A professor of Natural Science. 

"4. A principal of the Ladies' Department. 

"5. A musical teacher." 

126 



Dawn of a New Eta 

The fact to note in the above is the new thought of 
permanency and the dawning sense of needing a contin- 
uous poHcy. 

The summer vacation of 1868 began thus with rising 
courage and growing hope. In the meantime, President 
Ebersole found it expedient to accept the offer of the 
State University; not, however, until he had helped to 
secure a suitable successor for the work at Western. For 
three years, that is since the resignation of President 
William Davis, in 1865, to June, 1868, the College had 
been without a president, the teachers placed in charge 
during that time being officially known as principals. 
Now it was felt that the time had come to revive the office 
of president with all the prerogatives and prestige that 
go with that office, and Professor Ebersole was elected 
to the presidency. When, during the summer, he decided 
to lay down the duties of the office, another man was 
sought who would bring to the work steadfastness of 
purpose, weighty personality, and sound business judg- 
ment. President Ebersole's mind naturally turned to 
one who had been his fellow-student at Mount Pleasant 
College and later at Otterbein University, one who had 
shown sturdy persistence and nobleness of purpose in his 
own struggles to secure an education, and who possessed 
the qualities that would strengthen the new feeling of 
permanency at Western, Rev. E. B. Kephart, pastor of 
the United Brethren Church at Mount Pleasant, Pennsyl- 
vania. At the suggestion of President Ebersole the presi- 
dency was offered to Mr. Kephart, and after devout 
deliberation on his part, was accepted. As a large part of 
the history of Western College for thirteen years centers 
about the life of President Kephart, it will be necessary 
to give some aspects of that life in considerable detail. 

127 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

Ezekiel Boring Kephart, the son of hardy pioneers in 
the mountains of Pennsylvania, inherited to some extent 
the racial characteristics of his Swiss, German, English, 
and Pennsylvania Dutch ancestors. His biographer, Rev. 
L. F. John, says: "In him were happily combined the 
Swiss love of freedom and hatred of tyranny, whether in 
state or church, class or individual ; the German philoso- 
phical and theological bent; the common sense and prac- 
tical solidity of the English; and the frugal industry of 
the Pennsylvania Dutch." 

Among the pioneers of those days, especially of the 
mountain districts, school privileges were very meager. 
The Kephart children were first taught at home by their 
mother and were then sent to school whenever opportunity 
offered, at best only a few months out of the year, and 
then the schools were usually poorly taught and lacking 
wholly the power to inspire. The influence of that home, 
aided by that of an intelligent Scotch neighbor, kept the 
worth of learning at least dimly before the mind of young 
Ezekiel, and, above all, inculcated principles of inflexible 
morality and sturdy devotion. At the age of seventeen, 
with his conversion at a camp meeting, came the spiritual 
awakening that touched his whole life with a hallowing 
though quiet flame. Then at twenty-one came the great 
intellectual awakening, such as comes in some degree to 
every life that counts for much in the service of man- 
kind. 

At that particular time providence saw fit to send into 
the neighborhood two aspiring young school teachers, 
ardent students and school chums. One took the Kephart 
School and the other taught in the adjoining district. 
That winter work was scarce and the two young Kep- 
harts, E. B., twenty-one, and I. L., somewhat older, were 

128 




TRKslDhM J s MILLs I) I) 

President of Western College through the Time of the Fire and Rebuilding, 1889-1892. 




PRESIDENT A. M. BEAL, M.D. 
President of Western College one year and Member of the Faculty twelve years. 



Dazvn of a New Era 

at a loss as to what to do ; a suggestion from their father 
determined them to go to school, a suggestion heeded all 
the more readily because they had begun to realize their 
serious lack of education. As they were over age, the 
school authorities had first to be convinced of their good 
intentions. The schools . taught by the two chums from 
Cassville Academy were revelations to the neighborhood. 
The usual subjects of the country school of that day were 
presented with freshness and inspiration and additional 
classes in English grammar and geography were intro- 
duced, and even English literature and public speaking 
received attention. Two small papers were published 
by the schools and the Kephart brothers were the editors. 
One school celebrated Washington's birthday — a thing 
unheard of in that region — and the other school took part. 
Both schools joined in a grand closing exhibition. 

After siich a taste of the joys of learning and stimu- 
lating mental activity it was inevitable that great longings 
should stir in the depths of the two newly-awakened 
minds. The momentous decision that turned the tide of 
destiny for two lives, and largely influenced the future of 
the whole Church, came one Sunday morning as the two 
brothers sat on the bed earnestly debating the college 
question. They knew something of what an education 
would cost them and what hardships they must endure to 
secure it. Finally E. B.'s jaw closed with a fixedness 
that left no room for change, and he said with great delib- 
eration, "Well, I'm going to school." And I. L., with 
more sprightliness, but with no less finality, answered, *Tf 
you go, I'm going too." That was in 1856, the very 3^ear 
that saw the birth of Western College. 

So E. B. Kephart entered upon the long, arduous road 
to learning, first at Dickinson Academy, then at Mount 

129 



Western — Leander-Clark Collep-e 



6.' 



Pleasant College, later at Otterbein University, with inter- 
vals out for earning money — now teaching school, now 
rafting logs, and later, after deciding to enter the min- 
istry as his life's work, preaching, a method of earning 
money so slow in those days, especially for a young man 
who married in the meantime and had a home to provide 
for, that years slipped away before he was able to return 
and complete his college course. It was characteristic 
of him that the purpose of completing his education once 
formed he should not lose sight of it for a moment until 
the purpose could be fulfilled. 

After his graduation in 1865, he served one year as 
president of Collegiate Institute, a school of the Church 
at Leoni, Michigan, and then, convinced that the attempt 
to maintain the school was a mistake, he returned to Alle- 
gheny Conference and accepted work at Mount Pleasant, 
from which he was called, in 1868, to the presidency of 
Western College. 

Here a task of peculiar difficulty and complexity await- 
ed President Kephart. Among the friends of the College 
a feeling was springing up that a better day was at hand, 
but that feeling awaited a leader to turn it to account. 
Finances were in a chaotic state and needed to be reduced 
to a system, a task requiring years to accomplish even 
partially. The internal affairs of the College were in 
need of a well-ordered policy administered by a firm hand 
directed by a warm heart. The College buildings, and 
even the village had begun to wear an air of unpainted 
neglect, an air temporarily removed by strenuous effort, 
but destined afterward to increase with the years. 

Fortunately President Kephart was blessed with a large 
share of saving common sense, a rich store of homely 
humor, a rare vein of human kindness, and a sensitive 

130 



Dazvn of a Nezv Era 

faith in the Unseen Power that supports a righteous 
cause, a faith cultivated by his years in the ministry, and 
consecrated when he and his young bride accepted ap- 
pointment to the then distant mission post in the Territory 
of Washington, from which, even after the journey was 
begun, they were recalled by the Board because of the 
approaching Civil War. 

In order to bring themselves into close touch with the 
every-day life of the school, the president and his family, 
for the first two years of his administration, occupied 
rooms in Lane Hall, one of the College buildings used for 
a ladies' dormitory. After that they occupied their own 
home, a home that became the real center of college life 
and influence. Here again it will be appropriate to quote 
from the "Life of Ezekiel Boring Kephart," by his son- 
in-law, Dr. L. F. John: 

"His administration is known for its mingling of kind- 
ness and firmness. He always sought to ally the best 
students with himself by taking them into his confidence 
and counsel, so as to make them feel personally respon- 
sible. At one time when there was some commotion in 
the dormitory, he called in a young man, now prominent 
as a scholar in the Church, and said to him in substance, 
'Now how can we best succeed in bettering conditions and 
preserving order in the dormitories?' The student says 
that he always afterward felt that he ought to help the 
president in every way possible. This is an illustration 
of his methods of governing men. He never drove where 
possible to lead. 

"As a teacher, he stimulated manhood and womanhood. 
He did not underestimate the value of language, science, 
and philosophy, but he cared more for character. One 
of his predominant traits through life was his charity for 

131 



Western — Lcander-Clark College 

the erring who really desired to do right. Only eternity 
can reveal how many were stimulated to noble endeavor 
for pure living by the fact that Bishop Kephart trusted 
them. One who was his student in Western says of him : 
'I was sometimes rude, he was always patient; discour- 
aged, he would bear me up ; and when I did wrong, he 
forgot it. As time goes on, I realize more and more how 
his influence in the earlier years has entered into the shap- 
ing of my life in these later years.' " 

Because of the lofty integrity of his character and the 
qualities of heart and personality indicated above, Presi- 
dent Kephart gradually won the confidence and esteem 
of the students, townspeople, church constituency, and 
the larger citizenship of the State. A student in trouble 
or perplexed by the baffling problems of life knew where 
to go for wise and sympathetic counsel, and not long 
afterward statesmen were ready to invite him to their 
deliberations. 

The following extract, from a letter written by Rev. 
M. R. Drury in response to a request for personal impres- 
sions of the College and its teachers, characterizes in brief 
the closing years of the preceding period and the first four 
years of President Kephart's term: 

''Entering college at an early age, with only the prepara- 
tion which a village school of the times afforded, I was 
most susceptible to the impressions and influences which 
the new life in the college world afrorded. Among my 
first teachers none so touched my life as to give me vision 
and purpose as did Prof. M. W. Bartlett, then acting 
president of the College, a tall, spare man, with an intelli- 
gent and kindly face, prominent cheek bones and a decid- 
edly Roman nose and raven black straight hair. He was 
such a man in bearing and character as at once com- 

132 



Dazvn of a New Era 

manded my esteem and confidence. I remember him as 
distinctly as a teacher of reHgion and as a spiritual guide 
as I do as a teacher in the College. He was not a min- 
ister, but his activity in the Church and Bible school gave 
him a profound influence over the young lives coming in 
touch with him in those early days of the College. 

''Next to President Bartlett, the one whose life and 
teachings most impressed me, was Miss Hester A. Hillis, 
then the lady principal in the College. She was her- 
self not only a thorough student and a good and popular 
teacher, but her interest in the social and religious welfare 
of the students was such that she became a personal friend 
and helper of all. She was most self-denying and self- 
sacrificing. She used also to go out into the coun- 
try to schoolhouses adjacent to the College and hold 
religious services and conduct Sunday schools. On leav- 
ing the College, in 1867, she became a missionary to India 
Vv^here she spent many years in heroic and useful service. 
Her death occurred a few years ago and her brother, 
Doctor Hillis, of Brooklyn, New York, has written a 
worthy memorial tribute to her beautiful and noble life. 

*'In speaking thus of first teachers, I would not be 
understood as speaking disparagingl}^ of other and later 
teachers. President Kephart was a teacher greatly be- 
loved by his students, not so much for his scholarship as 
his manly character and devotion to his work. 

"I cannot now speak of other teachers whose memory I 
cherish with sincere affection and gratitude. The College 
had in its faculty in the early days noble men and women 
whose work, though done under conditions that would 
now be regarded as hard and discouraging, was most 
effective in mental discipline and in character building. 
Their names may be forgotten, but their work will abide. 

133 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

**My impression is that the highest end of education, 
which is the development of a true manhood and a true 
womanhood, was quite as well realized in the early his- 
tory of the College with its meager buildings and equip- 
ment, as is the case to-day. Well appointed buildings, 
chemical and biological laboratories, libraries and athletic 
facihties, and other modern educational aids are all very 
well in their places, and are greatly to be prized, but all 
the same it takes the teacher and the student to produce 
scholarship and character. I rejoice that the students of 
the present have their superior advantages and oppor- 
tunities, and they should not forget that with these there 
are corresponding responsibilities." 

When President Kephart first came, the faculty con- 
sisted, in addition to the president, of William Langham, 
Professor of Ancient Languages; Homer R. Page, Pro- 
fessor of Natural Science and History ; and Miss Emma 
Guitner, Principal of the Ladies' Department, together 
with the teacher of penmanship and bookkeeping and 
one of instrumental music. Tutors were added from 
time to time, and soon a teacher of painting and drawing 
was appointed, and finally one of vocal music. Not until 
1876 was a new chair, that of mathematics, created, and 
Professor R. E. Williams was chosen as its first incum- 
bent. Changes in the faculty remained all too frequent 
for the best interests of the school, the hopeful exceptions, 
in addition to the president, being Prof. L L. Kephart, a 
superior teacher and gifted writer, who filled the Chair of 
Natural Science and History for five years, 1871 to 1876, 
and Professor Lewis Bookwalter, who occupied the Chair 
of Ancient Languages and Literature for six years, 1873 
to 1879. These three men, all educated in the schools of 
the Church and devoted to this school, aided much in 

134 



Dawn of a New Era 

giving a tone of continuity and permanency to the faculty 
organization and to the whole life of the school, and 
related the College to the civic life of the community and 
State by accepting offices themselves. 

Soon a more vigorous academic life became evident 
about the College. Literary societies took on new activity 
and others were organized. Debating and public speak- 
ing were emphasized with telling effect. Public rhetori- 
cals were the great events of each term ; they were partici- 
pated in by all the students in sections, each section in 
charge of a college professor. Such exercises were 
looked forward to with interested anticipations by both 
the participants and the audience, and were talked about 
afterwards, furnishing in a measure the student excite- 
ment now furnished by athletic contests. 

The improved internal life of the school soon began to 
tell on the student attendance, especially in the upper 
classes. The enrollment at the beginning of President 
Kephart's administration was about one hundred and 
forty, not more than a dozen of whom were above the 
preparatory department. The attendance worked up 
until it reached the high- water mark, in 1874, with an 
enrollment of two hundred and thirty, fifty-one of whom 
were of collegiate rank. After that, owing to a combina- 
tion of adverse circumstances, the attendance fell off until 
after the College was removed. In 1872, four years after 
the new order of things was inaugurated, the College 
graduated a class of ten, exactly as many as had been 
graduated in all the preceding years, a record approached 
in the years immediately following, but not excelled until 
the class of 1877 surpassed it by two. 

The student body of that day, however, is more remark- 
able for scholarship and strength of character than for 

135 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

numbers, as may be seen at a glance at the alumni roll 
of that period. It is seldom that any school can boast 
of a group of graduates, so large a proportion of whom 
have reached eminence both in the learned professions and 
in practical life. These go far toward proving an asser- 
tion recently made by an interested observer, that a larger 
percentage of Western graduates "make good" than other 
colleges can show. The period from 1868 to 1881 saw 
the graduation of sixty-nine men and women ; sixteen of 
these held professorships in Western College for longer 
or shorter periods, the aggregate being sixty-six years. 
Three of them filled the presidency of the College for 
fifteen years. Graduates of the same period, including 
the ones counted above, furnished six presidents and a 
proportionate number of professors for other colleges, 
besides a large number of eminent ministers, lawyers, 
doctors, editors, and business men. When these were 
students together the College could not help feeling the 
stirrings of awakening genius — or latent mischief. When 
the old boys meet now there are wonderful stories of the 
long-ago, stories of that enchanting distance where harsh 
outlines melt in a mist of romance. 

The sober-minded historian must not indulge in senti- 
ment or attempt to depict the delicate aura that surrounds 
personality ; and yet these are the real stuff of which the 
history of a college is made — the strange, unspoken inti- 
macy of teacher and learner, ''When one who loves and 
knows not, reaps a truth from one who loves and knows" ; 
the student fellowships that entwine heartstrings through 
stress of common struggle or mutual mirth. The stu- 
dents of the '70's will remember first of all among their 
teachers the grave kindly face of President Kephart, with 
the occasional twinkle of humor in his eye, the calm 

136 



Dawn of a New Era 

deliberation of his speech, the quiet dignity of his bear- 
ing, and, above all, the kindly heart that knew how to 
make allowances for them all. With somewhat different 
emotions they will recall Professor I. L. Kephart, with 
his vivacious wit, his quick perception, ready speech, and 
lucid presentation, his clear-cut advice and wise admoni- 
tion, his facile pen and poetic diction, later to stand him 
in good stead in his long service as editor of the Religious 
Telescope. Miss Emma Guitner, a graduate of Otterbein, 
gave the Ladies' Department splendid leadership four 
years, and then, as the wife of Professor Bookwalter, 
was in close touch with the life of the school. The 
other teachers from abroad stayed for shorter times and 
perhaps left less lasting impressions. 

Professor Lewis Bookwalter, keen, alert, and popular 
as a student, active, earnest, and aggressive as a financial 
agent for one year, took up the work of teaching, fully 
imbued with the spirit of the school, and gave the depart- 
ment of Ancient Languages a reputation for thoroughness 
and organization, a six years' service for his College 
surpassed only by his longer turn later as its president 
Miss Anna Shuey, another product of Western, is re- 
membered gratefully by scores of students who shared 
the benefits of her instruction both in the old days at 
Western and later at Toledo. 

For the students of the period under consideration, the 
bare mention of names will be sufficient to loosen floods 
of memories for all connected with those days. Few 
classes can boast of such a group of members as was 
made up of Lewis Bookwalter, Henry Custer, Waldo 
Drury, Marion Drury, Francis Fry, Sallie Perry, Lucy 
Strother, Sarah Surran, and Robert Williams, a class 
best remembered perhaps for its serious application and 

137 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

solid worth. The next few classes furnish many names 
for the ministry, with an occasional one later conspicuous 
in the law, in business, or in teaching — T. J. Bauder, 
Milo Booth, Henry Bowman, Enoch Light, Henry Sheak, 
Cyrus Kephart, Francis Washburn. Of a slightly diffep 
ent nature are the traditions that gather about a later 
group, traditions of genial comradeships, mingled with 
seriousness and mirth-making and a share of solid accom- 
plishment — Harry Albert, Milton Beal — the mild-man- 
nered, cherub-eyed plotter of innocent mischief — W. I. 
Beatty, the irrepressible; Frank Smith, Joe Bookwalter, 
A. R. Burkdol, W. J. Ham, Josie Johnson, the studious ; 
Abe Neidig, U. D. Runkle, Austie Patterson, the serious- 
minded; W. H. Klinefelter, Dan Miller, Eli Ridenour, 
Addie Dickman, J. L. Drury, G. M. Miller, and Rob 
Wilson, the solemn-faced mirth provoker. These, and 
many others like them, whose deeds and personalities 
must be unrecorded here, yet who went to swell the whole 
amount, make up an enduring chapter in the history of 
the College. 

But enough of these unsubstantial realities. The record 
must come to the unpoetic and tangible. At the begin- 
ning of President Kephart's administration the College 
was obligated for something over $12,CKX), mostly bor- 
rowed money. Against this it had assets consisting of 
notes aggregating $10,600, and lands in Illinois and Iowa 
valued at $1,200, and town lots valued at $1,250. Many of 
the notes held by the College were of old standing and of 
uncertain value, and probably none of them paid any 
interest; the notes against the College on the other hand 
were kept in force and accumulated interest regularly. 

The financial task, great as it was, was attacked cour- 
ageously. A general agent was appointed to attend the 

138 



Dawn of a New Era 

sittings of the conferences cooperating with the College 
and ask them each to appoint a soliciting agent within 
their own territory. As a step toward greater perma- 
nency of income, agents were instructed to solicit pledges 
to be paid in ten annual installments, the larger ones ten 
dollars a year, the smaller ones five dollars a year. All 
sums received from such annual payments and all amounts 
otherwise secured by the agents were to be applied to the 
liquidation of the debt. In addition, the cooperating 
conferences were asked to raise one dollar per member 
each year ; this sum was to be known as the Dollar Fund, 
and to be applied toward the current expenses. This 
plan was tried until June, 1870, with not very satisfactory 
results. It was then decided to adopt some new plans, 
all looking toward concentration of management and 
more continuous income. 

The president of the College was made the virtual 
superintendent of agents. It was resolved that all agents 
should be created and employed by the board. Dennis 
Gray was elected general financial agent, in which capacity 
he rendered faithful and efficient service for eight years. 
The previous plans for the liquidation of the debt were 
continued. To provide for salaries of the teachers and 
for current expenses, it was decided to create two new 
funds, one known as the Endowment Fund, and the other 
as the Scholarship Fund. 

For the first it was decided to solicit notes secured by 
real estate, personal security, or good names, all notes 
to draw interest payable annually. An agent, designated 
as Endowment Agent, was put into the field to solicit for 
this specific fund. Notes could be paid at any time, and 
the money thus coming into the treasury was loaned. 
Only a small portion of the notes seems ever to have been 

139 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

m 

paid in and much of the interest evidently was allowed 
to go by default. The treasurer's report to the board, 
June, 1878, probably the high-water mark, shows a total 
endowment of $19,215, made up of notes, bequests, and 
life insurance policies. The same report shows the total 
receipts from endowment interest $486.89, from which 
it is evident that only a small portion of the fund was 
really productive. In the end the fund seems to have 
practically disappeared. 

The Scholarship Fund was to be made up from two 
sources — notes of $250 at ten per cent., payable annually, 
and cash payments of $250 each, the donation in either 
case to entitle the donor to a perpetual scholarship in 
Western College good for the tuition of one student in 
the regular college classes. The report of 1878 shows a 
scholarship fund of $11,500, on which interest amounting 
to $397.06 was paid, indicating that the fund was not very 
productive. Later experience has shown that the issuing 
of such perpetual scholarships is an unfortunate mortgage 
on the future income of the institution granting them. 

The five or six years following the adoption of these 
new plans were reasonably prosperous. Attendance 
increased and a number of influential families moved to 
Western. By counting all the notes received during the 
year as good the treasurer was able a few times to report 
a small decrease in the debt total. It was soon found, 
however, that the debt was gradually gaining, and in the 
later '70's the gain was found to be about $1,500 a year, 
the total in 1881 reaching $25,000. In these latter years 
it became painfully evident that some change must be 
brought about; some deeply concerned in the College 
were coming to the conviction that the change most likely 
to bring permanent relief was a change of location. 

140 



Dawn of a Nezv Era 

Several men deserve special mention for their loyal 
services to the College during this period. First of all 
was President Kephart, who taught classes, looked after 
discipline, directed the business of the institution, visited 
the cooperating territory, and took an active part in 
church and civic affairs. By his solid qualities of char- 
acter and his large abilities he won distinction for the 
College within his Church and prestige for it in the State. 
During the agitation over the removal of the county seat 
of Linn County from Marion to Cedar Rapids, President 
Kephart cast his influence in favor of Marion, in grati- 
tude for which service a delegation of Marion citizens 
visited him at Western and offered him the nomination 
for State senator. He finally accepted, was elected, and 
served with distinction from 1872 to 1876, still, however, 
keeping up his duties as president of the College. While 
a member of the senate he was influential in securing the 
passage of the Iowa Prohibitory Law, and of most im- 
portant legislation affecting education in Iowa. It was 
also well known that the vote of Senator Kephart decided 
the choice for United States Senator in favor of William 
B. Allison. By that vote he gave Iowa one of her 
greatest honors, the nation one of the most conspicuous 
public servants, and Western College a life-long friend. 
After his term of office other and higher civic honors 
were offered him, from all of which he turned because 
he had chosen the cause of religion and religious educa- 
tion. In May, 1881, the General Conference of the 
United Brethren Church, in session at Lisbon, Iowa, 
honored itself and Western College by electing President 
Kephart to the bishopric, an office which he filled with 
great credit until his death. His long service as president 
of Western College — a length of service not yet equalled 

141 



Western — Lcander-Clark College 

by any other who has filled that office — convinced Bishop 
Kephart of two great truths: the Church must foster 
education, and educational institutions must be freed 
from debt and then must be kept free. Perhaps no other 
bishop did so much as he did toward reaching these two 
desired ends. 

Perhaps next to the president in arduous, and often 
thankless and even maligned service, stand the financial 
agents, without whom no Christian college could be built 
up, and certainly without whom Western College could 
not have survived the stormy period of its early history. 
Subjected to cold looks and colder rebuffs, to hardships 
of travel and inclemency of weather, often like homeless 
wanderers, and always with precarious compensation, 
either in material rewards or in recognition of services 
rendered, they nerved themselves daily anew for the day's 
new conflicts, and as fast as one fell another took his 
place. Dennis Gray continued in active service during 
the greater part of the period now under consideration, 
some years as sole agent, more often with one or more 
assistants; he will receive his just dues only when the 
closed volume of unwritten history shall be opened. 
W. S. DeMoss served for a shorter time, but accom- 
plished much by his earnestness and zeal. L. Book- 
waiter, I. L. Buchwalter, and M. Ful comer each lent a 
helping hand for a short period. No little credit, too, is 
due the keepers of the treasury, some of whom were 
active field agents at the same time. Lewis Bookwalter 
and I. L. Kephart deserve special mention for the accu- 
racy, neatness, and lucidity of their accounts. Their 
reports enabled the board to understand fully the financial 
condition of the school ; each was treasurer for three years. 
W. J. Hamm also kept excellent records for one year. 

142 



Dazvn of a New Era 

In 1878, M. S. Drury, who had moved his family to 
Western three years earHer that he might give his per- 
sonal services to the College more completely than he 
could do at a distance, was made general financial agent 
and treasurer. This was a period of increasing depres- 
sion for the College. Attendance had fallen off with a 
consequent loss in tuitions and a larger deficit in current 
expenses. Many in the cooperating territory were grow- 
ing indifferent, or discouraged, or even hostile, insomuch 
that donations were difficult to secure. Interest on the 
old debt was increasing at an alarming rate. Mr. Drury 
became wrapped up in the College, and so ardent for 
its success that he donated his time as agent and treasurer 
and made frequent gifts besides, the last one being a 
gift of $1,000 conditioned on the raising of the whole 
debt. He finally became convinced that the location of 
the College was the greatest hindrance to ultimate success, 
and so began to advocate a change, thereby bringing upon 
himself much severe censure. A later chapter must show 
more fully how his life story is interwoven with that of 
the College. 

Another group of men, not usually recognized in any 
degree commensurate with the amount and value of 
services rendered, is the Executive Committee, composed 
of business and professional men already burdened with 
work. The Executive Committee is called upon to spend 
many long hours periodically grappling with the knottiest 
of problems and facing the most trying situations. The 
Board meets once a year, keeps open house, and goes 
about its business; the Executive Committee must stand 
guard over the interests of the College the year around. 
It is the safety valve of the administration, the president's 
cabinet when he needs advice, his buffer when he needs 

143 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

a shield; and no one knows the hours these men spend 
and the tasks they meet. Usually, too, it is the Executive 
Committee that supplies the thread of continuity so nec- 
essary to the welfare of a College. 

Both at Western and at Toledo, members of the Execu- 
tive Committee have been in longer consecutive service 
than can be found in any other branch of administration. 
Dr. W. B. Wagner, conspicuous in all the early counsels 
of the College, extended well into this period as a member 
of the Executive Committee. J. W. Horn, Adam Perry, 
and Ransom Davis served for fifteen years or more, a 
large portion of a busy man's active career. The names 
of Homer Page, L. M. Healy, A. C. Gilmore, H. A. 
Dilling, John Kephart, Ralph Shatto, S. Dice, J. Speak, 
T. Halberson, David Silver, J. S. Rock, and Doctor 
Manning appear as members of the committee for less 
extended periods. 

The Board of Trustees, as the final authority of the 
College, exerts the largest influence in shaping general 
policies, supplying the spirit and tone of the enterprise 
as a whole, and in keeping the College in vital touch with 
the people. Names that appear most frequently in the 
minutes of the board during these years as present and 
taking part in legislation and on committees are : M. S. 
Drury, Martin Bowman, J. H. Vandever, C. H. Neidig, 
John Dorcas, W. S. DeMoss, S. R. Lichtenwalter, J. W. 
Eckles, T. D. Adams, George Miller, I. K. Statton, J. H. 
Grim, L. H. Bufkin, and A. M. Beal. These and many 
others, perhaps equally interested, did much to sustain 
the credit and prestige of the College throughout these 
years. 

An extract from a letter written by Dr. Lewis Book- 
waiter, in response to a request for the story of his con- 

144 




HON. E. C. EBERSOLE, LL.D. 

("onnected with Western since 1863 as Professor, Acting President, Member of Execu- 
tive Committee, Endowment Secretary, and Legal Counsel. 




REV. GEORGE MILLER. D.D. 

President of the Board of Trustees twenty-eight years, and Member 

of the Board thirty-six years. 



Dawn of a New Era 

nection with the College and his estimate of men and 
measures, will close this chapter. 

"I registered first, Jan. 1, 1868, after the winter term was 
under way, entering the common branches of the academy. 
I was several days in coming from home in Blue Earth 
County, Wisconsin, no little of the distance being by 
stage — on runners. I reached Cedar Rapids on Saturday 
evening late, and rode out to Western with two Bohe- 
mian men in their wagon. They provided me a seat on an 
upended beer keg. Acting President or Principal E. C. 
Ebersole had just come to the head of the school and his 
cordial reception and subsequent kindly attentions I shall 
never forget. Returning in the fall, I found E. B. 
Kephart as new president. To this man you cannot give 
too high a place in the roll of the makers of the College. 
In fact, he made it — found it practically an academy and 
made it a college. The class of '72 was the first harvest 
of his sowing. He was a big man in body, brain, and 
heart, also a tireless, hopeful worker, and he actually 
got under the whole enterprise with his broad shoulders, 
lifted it up out of the mire, and carried it forward 
and upward. Through all his administration the struggle 
was to meet the financial needs. As a teacher under 
him for six years, I think I never settled with the College 
on salary without taking a note for a considerable bal- 
ance. Here, I may add, a larger part of these notes were 
finally settled by the holder forgiving the half. 

"My father became interested, first through my coming 
to the College and then by a desire especially to educate 
his children. Finally, renting his farm in Wisconsin, he 
removed to Western in the early fall of 1870 — coming by 
wagon. He had previously bought property in the town 
and a small farm near by. He threw himself enthusi- 

145 



Western — Leander-Clark Colle 



£•? 



astlcally into the work of building up the College, gave 
it money, was several years College pastor and also field 
agent. His work as pastor, three years, was specially 
successful. I remember that Austie Patterson was con- 
verted under his labors." 



146 



Chapter VIII. 

AGITATION FOU RELOCATION. CAUSES LEADING 
THERETO. PROVIDING FOR THE OLD DEBT. SEEKING 
A NEW LOCATION. PROPOSITION FROM TOLEDO, THE 
EMPTY NEST. 

The first suggestion of a possible removal of the Col- 
lege, at least from an official source, was contained in a 
recommendation of the Executive Committee to the 
Board, in June, 1866. Under stress of pressing need, 
the Committee had called on the citizens of Western and 
vicinity to raise a fund designated as the Four Thousand 
Dollar Fund, and recommended that in case the amount 
could not be raised, the school should be removed to an- 
other location. The recommendation provoked a most 
spirited discussion and finally called out a resolution from 
the Board to the effect that the recommendation was pre- 
mature and should not be considered farther at the pres- 
ent time. The matter then seems to have been dropped 
for a number of years, though, no doubt, it was occasion- 
ally discussed in private. That there was increased 
thought in that direction about 1875 is evident from an 
action of the Board in June of that year. In the minutes 
of that session is recorded a congratulatory resolution 
stating that "through the advice of the Committee on 
Finance, arrangements have been effected by which the 
institution is placed upon a permanent basis; and the 
people of Western may now look forward to the period at 
no distant day when a new and ample college building shall 
adorn the present beautiful campus ; and that the matter 
of moving the College to another locality has never been 

147 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

entertained by the Board of Trustees, but has simply 
been an outside rumor without official consideration." 

The question, however, was not so easily disposed of 
as the Board seemed to think. No later than November 
of the same year, the editor of the Lisbon Sun, in an 
argument for the removal of the College to Lisbon, 
writes : 

"The present buildings of the U. B. College at Western 
are in an unsuitable condition to meet the growing demand 
of the school and will soon have to be rebuilt. To re- 
place them at Western is a .conceded folly. Bishop 
Glossbrenner repudiates the idea, and the directors, fac- 
ulty, and friends of the school look upon such a project 
as disastrous and extremely unwise. Besides its isolation 
and wretched access, its surroundings are such as to pre- 
clude the hope of the growth and success which would 
surely follow its removal to Lisbon. The friends of the 
Church at large and the citizens of Lisbon, without re- 
gard to denomination, are interested in this change." 

That, of course, is a prejudiced view meant to create 
sentiment in favor of the change suggested, and yet it is 
probable that the opinions expressed in the editorial were 
shared in a measure by many of those concerned in the 
permanent welfare of the College. 

Early in 1876 the same paper contained the following : 

"The efforts of Western to raise the necessary amount 
for a railroad savors of no success. Good men who really 
intended to give from $500 to $1,000 now step back and 
decline to donate a dollar, upon the ground that the loca- 
tion of the College will ultimately be changed, railroad 
or no railroad, and they do not want to give toward a 
railroad for Western and still contribute their intended 
aid to the College. They will give, you see, to the College 

148 



Agitation for Relocation 

no matter where it may permanently be located, but have 
no surplus means to invest merely to give temporary aid 
to Western." 

For the next two or three years the agitation of the 
question of the removal of the College was intermittent 
and unofficial. Meanwhile, Western was grasping at 
every straw of hope for a railroad, and it was becoming 
more difficult to secure students and money for the Col- 
lege. Before the meeting of the Board of Trustees in 
June, 1880, discussion had become so widespread and so 
earnest, participated in by the financial agent and others 
immediately connected with the school, that it was evident 
that the matter would be brought officially to the notice 
of the Board. The columns of the Westtrn Light were 
filled with arguments pro and con, mostly, however, ardent 
pleas for leaving the College at Western — sentimental 
appeals in behalf of the spot consecrated by their fathers 
and adorned by their toils and sacrifices, arguments to 
prove that the present state of the College was due rather 
to the wilful neglect on the part of the ministers and 
church people than to the location, and, strongest argu- 
ment of all, the obligation of the College to those who 
had made repeated donations to the school because it was 
at their doors, and to those who had come to Western 
for the sake of the school and had built up homes prima- 
rily with a view to advancing the interests of the College. 

When the Board met, the whole matter was canvassed 
thoroughly and seriously. Finally the following pream- 
ble and resolutions were adopted with but little opposi- 
tion : 

"Whereas, New and commodious buildings must soon 
be afforded to Western College, and, 

149 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

"Whereas, It is the judgment of the friends of the 
school that the usefulness of Western College to the 
Church would be greatly augmented by its relocation at a 
point where it can enjoy better the advantages of modern 
equipment and railroad communication, and, 

"Whereas, It is the duty of the Trustees of said Col- 
lege to do the best in their power for the educational 
trust committed to their charge by the Church ; therefore, 

''Resolved, That we recommend the appointment of a 
committee of three persons, which committee shall be 
instructed to secure grounds and subscriptions condi- 
tionally at two or three or more towns or cities in the 
State of Iowa, to the end that the town or city guaran- 
teeing the most help, with all advantages considered, shall 
receive said College, subject to the ratification of the 
proper authorities. 

"That said committee shall report the result of its 
work to the president of the Board of Trustees at the 
earliest practical day, who may thereupon call immediately 
an extra session of said Board, and the said Board may 
then determine upon the future location of said College." 

The Committee on Relocation, appointed according to_ 
the above resolution, consisted of M. S. Drury, W. J. 
Ham, and Daniel Runkle. 

It may not be amiss here to present a summary of the 
causes that led, after so long deliberation, to the final 
decision to change the location of the College. 

The cause universally admitted as most potent was the 
unfavorable location. The site at Western had been 
chosen, in the first place, because a larger donation was 
offered there than elsewhere; perhaps also the founders 
were influenced by the common mistake of their day that 
a sequestered spot offered the proper environment for a 

150 



Agitation for Relocation 

college. The site was nearly halfway between Iowa 
City on the south and Cedar Rapids on the north, both 
already growing young cities, to which railroads were 
either already built or were sure to be built soon. It was 
hoped that a north and south line connecting these two 
cities would soon be built, and Would pass through 
\Vestern. How these hopes seemed on the very eve of 
fulfillment, and how, when the road was finally built, 
Western was left three miles from the nearest station, 
has already been told in these pages. Later, desperate 
and repeated efforts were put forth to secure a road — 
efforts that sometimes raised high hopes, in the end to be 
dashed again to the ground. Finally, in 1879, an article 
in the Western Light, headed "Shall We Have a Rail- 
road? Western's Last Chance," voiced the general feel- 
ing. This hope also failed — the hope oft deferred that 
made the heart sick. 

Another unfavorable element in the matter of location, 
but one that could not have been foreseen when the 
College was established, was the coming of a Bohemian 
colony that spread until it possessed practically all the 
farming region round about the College. These were 
industrious, intelligent people, not averse to education, but 
with deeply ingrained social and religious customs and 
traditions utterly foreign to the ideals for which the Col- 
lege stood. So far as they had a leaning toward any par- 
ticular type of school, their preference was rather for the 
institutions conducted by the State. Of the Church, 
under whose auspices Western College was conducted, 
they knew little and naturally felt but slight obligation to 
support any of its institutions. While not necessarily 
constituting a hostile environment, their presence pre- 
cluded the fulfillment of the dream entertained by the 

151 



Western — Leander-Clark Colle^^r 



ii' 



founders of the College, the dream of a great community 
in all the region round about composed of families at- 
tached to the College by generations of church traditions 
and personal experiences, and kept in devotion to it 
through the warm sympathy of sons and daughters pass- 
ing to and from its halls. 

Still a third unfavorable consideration was the close 
proximity of the State University a few miles to the 
south and of Cornell College a few miles to the east. In 
point of early start and first prestige, Western had en- 
joyed an advantage over both of these, but lost it through 
the depressing period of the Civil War and the severe 
financial embarrassments that followed. Now the Col- 
lege was no longer able to compete successfully with the 
institutions in the same territory-. The immediate cause, 
however, of the decision was the state of affairs pertain- 
ing to the College at Western, a state made up partly of 
physical, partly of psychological conditions. The College 
buildings were wholly unsuitable and rapidly becoming 
more unfit; it was evident that new buildings must soon 
be erected at great expense. The friends of the College 
were already discouraged because of the excessive em- 
barrassments that seemed to be piling upon it. The 
Church had become despondent and almost hopeless over 
the outlook. In such a mood neither an individual nor a 
larger social mass has the heart for great undertakings: 
belief in failure perpetuates failure ; abiding faith in suc- 
cess invites success. As is the case with the individual, 
so, too, the public mind, laboring under the sense of fail- 
ure in a given place, feels that a fresh start in a new 
place would inspire new hope and courage. That psy- 
chological condition was one of the potent reasons why a 
change of location for Western College was needed. 

152 



Agitation for Relocation 

While the committee appointed for that purpose was 
seeking a new location, the question of the propriety of 
the move was thoroughly ventilated. It was still possible 
for the friends of the College to retain it there if they 
could secure larger donations for that place than other 
localities would offer. Discussion was heated and often 
acrimonious. Such moves as the one proposed necessa- 
rily entail painful consequences and often set brother 
against brother in unseemly strife, and fill history with a 
few unpleasant pages that the later historian would gladly 
pass over in silence. The Trustees were accused of put- 
ting the College up at auction, making of it a thing of 
merchandise, and peddling it about the country seeking 
the highest bidder. The motives of good Father Drury 
and others, most active in favor of relocation, were im- 
pugned, and many unkind things were said and felt. The 
situation itself made inevitable much personal loss and 
many heart burnings that only time can cure. 

Of the localities competing for the College, Toledo 
soon took the lead. Lisbon had long sought to bring the 
school to that place, and was able to offer a strong local 
support, but was open to the fatal objection of being 
within walking distance of Cornell College, already well 
established and prospering. Marion made several efforts 
to work up sentiment in favor of offering inducements at 
that place, but seemed unable to enlist the general com- 
munity very deeply. Cedar Rapids, Clarence, Wilton 
Junction, Muscatine, Independence, West Liberty, and 
Toledo were all considered by the committee. Conditions 
at Toledo were such as to incline her citizens favorably 
toward inviting the College. A beautiful county-seat 
town of much wealth and culture, with little prospect of 
building up large mercantile or manufacturing enter- 

153 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

prises, she needed something to give her distinction, and 
the College seemed to offer the thing needed. Besides, 
Mr. E. C. Ebersole and Mrs. Emily Dillman, among the 
early teachers of the College, had long been highly es- 
teemed and influential citizens of Toledo, and they natur- 
ally cast their influence in favor of securing the College. 
Under their leadership, warmly seconded by other citi- 
zenSj mass meetings were held, committees appointed, and 
the community canvassed. In due time a substantial 
subscription was secured, and Mr. E. C* Ebersole and 
Mr. J. B. Hedge were delegated to carry the proposition 
to the authorities at Western. 

An extra session of the Board of Trustees met at 
Western, December 29, 1880, to hear the report of the 
Committee on Relocation. As a matter of preliminary 
information, M. S. Drury, general agent, reported that 
the conferences cooperating in the support of Western 
College had passed resolutions at their last sessions author- 
izing the Board of Trustees to remove the College. When 
propositions concerning relocation were called for, the 
following was presented by the duly appointed committee : 

"To M. S. Drury, W. J. Ham, and D. Runkle, Com- 
mittee on the Relocating of Western College : 

"We, the undersigned, a comm.ittee appointed by the 
people of the town of Toledo, Tama County, Iowa, have 
in our possession subscriptions of the people of said town 
and vicinity to the amount of about $20,194, which we 
are authorized to present to the Board of Trustees of 
said College upon the condition that said College be per- 
manently located at said Toledo by the first day of Janu- 
ary, 1881, the money collected on said subscriptions to b^ 

154 



Agitation for Relocation 

used in erecting suitable buildings for said College at 
said Toledo. 

"Western, Iowa, December 29, 1880. 

"E. C. Ebersole, 
"Jas B. Hedge, 

''Committee.'' 

The proposition of Toledo was accepted by a vote of 
eight yeas to one nay, and steps were taken looking toward 
the removal of the College and its belongings to Toledo 
the following summer. A building committee, consisting 
of M. S. Drury, D. Runkle, Maj. L. Clark, Hon. W. F. 
Johnson, and E. C. Ebersole, was appointed to proceed 
with the erection of a College building at Toledo. An- 
other committee was appointed to dispose of the College 
property at Western. 

The change of location now being officially settled, it 
remained to complete the present school year, wind up the 
affairs of the College at its old location, and transfer the 
institution to its new seat. 

The consummation devoutly to be wished in closing up 
the College business before removal was the canceling of 
the old debt in order to start in the new home with ac- 
counts balanced; the debt now amounted, in round num- 
bers, to $25,000. Financial Agent M. S. Drury had been 
working zealously for a number of years to reduce the 
debt, and the Board finally ordered an attempt to cover 
the whole amount by cash subscriptions and notes by 
June 25, 1881 ; donations were solicited on condition that 
the whole amount be provided for within the time speci- 
fied. At the Board meeting, June, 1880, the general agent 
reported $4,800 in such conditional pledges. With a view 
to making a united assault upon the debt the coming year, 

155 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

L. H. Bufkin, J. W. Smith, and later D. Miller were 
appointed soliciting agents to assist in the campaign. So 
vigorous was the work of these men and of the general 
agent that the report of the Board, June 18, 1881, showed 
$20,184, including $4,500 from the sale of lands belonging 
to the College, and a smaller amount collected on old 
notes. Here we may quote, from a personal letter of 
L. H. Bufkin, his experience being typical of what col- 
lege agents encounter. 

"At the meeting of the Board, June, 1880, I was elected 
soliciting agent, or field secretary. At that time there was 
a debt of $25,000 against the College, and it was my duty 
with the aid of the general agent to raise that amount by 
solicitation. The plan adopted was to take notes payable 
upon the condition that the whole amount be secured on 
or before the twenty-fifth day of June, 1881. I started 
out with the full expectation of success, but met v/ith 
many discouraging failures where I had entertained the 
brightest hopes of success. On one occasion a wealthy 
and influential member of the Church listened to my story 
with apparent interest, and v/hen I had finished he calmly 
informed me that he would not give anything, because 
when passing the window of his parlor one day he dis- 
covered one minister kissing another minister's wife. 
Upon another occasion I visited the home of Mr. and 
Mrs. Thomas Hahn, in Fremont County, Iowa, and talked 
with them of Church and College afifairs until midnight 
without apparent effect, and went to bed with a sad heart, 
ior he was also wealthy and usually a generous giver. 
.The next morning I was called to breakfast at an early 
hour, arid going down stairs, feeling as forlorn as imag- 
ination could possibly paint, I was greeted by the host 

156 



Agitation for Relocation 

and hostess with beaming smiles, and at the breakfast 
table Mr. Hahn informed me that his wife had dreamed 
in the night that they had given the College a thousand 
dollars and woke up shouting happy, and after talking 
the matter over they had concluded to make the dream 
come to pass. That was breakfast enough for me, so 
I filled out a note for $1,000, payable in one year, and 
they both signed it. Time flew rapidly, and so did I 
from place to place, sometimes by rail, sometimes on foot, 
absent from home as long as six weeks at a time, until 
the first day of July, 1881, when, just before midnight, 
the $25,000 fund was completed, the last few hundred 
dollars being made up by friends in Western who had 
already contributed liberally." 

As soon as it was ascertained that the whole amount 
had been raised within the specified time, the secretary 
of the Board, Rev. T. D. Adams, in accordance with the 
previous instructions from that body, proclaimed that, the 
conditions on which the notes had been obtained having 
been met, the obligations therein stated were now in full 
force. 

During the summer the College and its portable effects 
and its officers were moved from Western to Toledo. 
Several other families not now officially connected with 
the College, including Bishop Kephart and his family, 
also removed to Toledo to assist in starting the new insti- 
tution. Others, either not choosing or unable to go, 
stayed behind with aching hearts amid the quiet and lone- 
someness of the deserted place. 

One who wandered back in the late autumn has left 
this record: 

157 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

**Not long since I passed a night in Western once more, 
where I had spent the happiest years of my Hfe. By 
some impulse I was led to stroll into the campus of old 
Western College, and as I was slowly threading my way 
along the beautiful avenue leading from the chapel, 
around which gathers so many precious memories, to 
Lane Hall, a feeling of lonesomeness stole over me such 
as I had never experienced before; memories of the past 
rushed through my brain like a sweeping current. I 
thought of the first time of visiting these grounds, before 
the hand of man had marred the face of nature. I 
seemed to see the sturdy workmen gather there with pick 
and spade and commence the work of excavation for the 
first building; the formal opening of the new college on 
the wild prairie; the first term of school, followed by 
more than three score and ten sessions without interrup- 
tion; the first commencement day, with its annual return 
with increasing interest and pleasure to the last. The 
first graduate, with the number of classes of interesting 
young ladies and gentlemen that followed as the years 
sped by; the seasons of grace enjoyed under the preaching 
of the Word in the chapel ; and the sweet fellowship in 
the social gatherings. I thought of those earnest men of 
God, who selected this spot, and retired from all that 
would distract or allure to vice, as a suitable place to 
build a college, and of the men who gathered around the 
infant school with their families to give it support, some 
of whom are now in heaven, while some are waiting on 
the near shore for the boatman to carry them over. I 
remembered that here once was located one among the 
best United Brethren societies in the Church, and that 
here once the General Conference met in quadrennial 
session. But oh, how changed! My grief was over- 

158 



Agitation for Relocation 

whelming when I rose from my revery, for I had been 
sitting about midway between the buildings, and turned 
my eyes involuntarily first to the chapel and then to the 
hall, to be met with black darkness where I was wont to 
see lights dancing in every v/indow, for I seemed to have 
forgotten for the moment that the school had been moved 
from these consecrated grounds to another place." 

The village of Western still retains its name and a mere 
place on the map, but is practically deserted, and so far 
as the College and its associations are concerned, the 
place is the most desolate and forsaken of all objects — a 
last year's bird's nest in the bleak chill of a January thaw. 
The remnants of the College building have fallen to decay, 
or have been desecrated to alien uses. The place is 
haunted only by the shadowy forms of other days. The 
halls where the young men held debates either are not, 
or preserve the silence of the grave ; the hurrying step, the 
ringing voice, the merry laugh, the swelling song, and 
the solemn prayer are heard no more ; the scenes of daily 
victory or defeat, of genial comradeships and tender 
whisperings of young love are gone with the ghosts of 
forgotten joys. To one returning after the lapse of 
years to these scenes of his ardent youth, the sadness is 
almost more than heart can bear ; it is akin to the experi- 
ence of one returning after thirty years to his childhood 
home. With quickening heart beats he approaches the 
spot, half cheated by the delusive hope that he is to taste 
again boyhood's keen thrill of pleasure. The first sight 
of the spot dispels his momentary illusion and fills him 
with a sadness indescribable, yet tender and half sweet. 
The house where he was born is forsaken and in ruins, 
haunted by the little creatures that love the solitude, and 
by the memories of past associations. He approaches the 

159 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

door, but no father and mother come forth with benedic- 
tions of joyful welcome. He listens in vain for the 
kindred voices that used to summon him to childish play. 
He visits the spring at the foot of the hill and tries to 
renew his youth by a taste of its sparkling water, but this 
somehow has lost its power to ravish the palate with 
delight. As a last forlorn hope, he crosses the meadow 
and loiters along the creek where as a boy with dog and 
gun, or hook and line, he so often experienced ecstasies 
of palpitating expectancy. But all in vain; the charm 
has fled, the spell has been broken. Somewhat is due to 
lost power to see and feel as in the sentient days of youth ; 
somewhat more to human associations now gone beyond 
recall. 

Oh, Western, lovely wild rose on the bosom of the 
prairie, "these were thy charms, but all these charms 
are fled." 



160 



Chapter IX. 

REORGANIZATION OF FACULTY. OPENING OF SCHOOL 
AT TOLEDO FINANCIAL AFFAIRS. M. S. DRURY. L. H. 
BUFKIN. TEACHERS AND STUDENTS. PRESIDENT 
BEARDSHEAR. 

Coincident with the removal of the College to Toledo, 
it was found necessary to reorganize the faculty and 
rearrange departments. The Ladies' Department was 
abandoned, the Department of History was given sepa- 
rate existence, and the Department of Modern Languages 
was created, though not filled until later. But two of the 
teachers at Western entered the actual work at Toledo — 
Miss Anna Shuey, who had most acceptably filled the 
principalship of the Ladies' Department, now transferred 
to the chair of mathematics for four years more of ex- 
cellent service, later known as Mrs. R. L. Swain, a noble 
woman of most wholesome influence; and Mr. T. H. 
Studebaker, teacher of bookkeeping, continued in the 
same position. Professor J. W. Robertson, teacher of 
Latin and Greek, was reelected, and moved to Toledo, 
but late in the autumn was compelled to go west in a 
vain search for health. 

The promotion of President Kephart by the General 
Conference in May, made it necessary to seek another to 
take the leadership in the affairs of the College. The 
Board, in June, called to the presidency a stalwart young 
scholar and rising preacher, of Dayton, Ohio, Rev. Wil- 
liam Miller Beardshear ; the choice proved most fortunate. 
President Beardshear, six feet three, broad shouldered 
and rugged of limb, a dynamo of mental and spiritual 
energy, was just ripening toward his prime and spread 

161 



Western — Leander-Clark College 



i>' 



the wholesome contagion of his own expanding person- 
ality and power into the life of the College. He re- 
mained with the school eight years, and then passed on to 
larger work, finally to find his true work as head of the 
great Iowa College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. 

As Professor of Natural Science, the Board at the same 
session selected Albert Milton Beal, already so well and 
favorably known in college circles as a student from the 
beginning of the preparatory department to the end of the 
classical course, and later as a trustee representing the 
Alumni Association. He was called from the law firm 
of Beal and Ham, at Tama, Iowa ; he remained as science 
professor ten years and as president one year. Later he 
took up the practice of medicine, a profession for which 
he was peculiarly well adapted both by nature and by 
training. Professor Beal was an enthusiastic scientist, a 
man of warm sympathies, genial personality, and purity 
of character, one of those sweeter souls whose influence 
remains among the treasured legacies of the College. 

When Professor Robertson was compelled to lay down 
his work as teacher of Ancient Languages, a successor 
was found in the person of Rev. James A. Weller, of 
Ohio, a graduate of Otterbein University. Professor 
Weller not only gave himself enthusiastically to building 
up the Department of Ancient Languages, but also estab- 
lished the Department of Elocution in the College. He 
held his position in the College for six years, and then 
became president of Lane University, and later of Central 
College. 

Urias D. Runkle, a graduate of W^estern, class of 77, 
was selected as Professor of History and teacher of Pen- 
manship, a position he filled for two years, and then went 
again to public school work. 

162 



Reorganisation of Faculty 

John L. Drury, class of '81, was teacher of the begm- 
ning branches for one year. 

The other teachers for the first year at Toledo were: 
Emma J. Howard, teacher of drawing and painting; 
Richard L. Swain, teacher of vocal music; and Mrs. A. G. 
Smith, teacher of instrumental music. 

During the summer of 1881 preparations were pushed 
forward as vigorously as possible for the opening of 
school in the fall. Gangs of workmen were busy exca- 
vating for the large new College building ; later with lay- 
ing the foundation. Processions of teams passed through 
town to the College grounds on the south, bearing stone 
for the foundation and brick for the walls. College peo- 
ple were collecting at Toledo — renting property, pu^-chas- 
ing homes, or building new ones. From Western, in addi- 
tion to the teachers and Bishop Kephart previously men- 
tioned, came J. M. Horn and Sam Richardson, who 
became hosts of the Toledo House, Ralph Statto, who 
came a little later, and Financial Agent M. S. Drury, who 
at once invested in town property and next year built a 
new home much larger than his own needs demanded, and 
did so to show that the College enterprise had financial 
backing and was ready to take its share of social ceremo- 
nies. President Beardshear and Bishop Kephart started 
at once the building of new homes, both constructed with 
a view to the needs of the College community. Agent 
Bufkin and other friends of the College came and estab- 
lished themselves in Toledo. 

As it was impossible to have the new building ready 
for the opening of the school year, the public school build- 
ing, recently vacated by the transfer to the large new high 
school building, was secured for college purposes. In 
this classes were held for the first two years ; public exer- 

163 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

cises were held either in the United Brethren Church or 
in the courthouse. 

Formal opening exercises were held in the United 
Brethren Church before an audience that packed the 
house. W. F. Johnston spoke for the citizens and wel- 
comed the College and its students to the community. 
President Beardshear responded for the College, as only 
he could do. The ceremonies over, the College took up 
the regular work of the first year in its new home. Lect- 
ures, public rhetoricals, and an oratorical contest varied 
the routine of daily work. The oratorical contest was 
won by Miss Emma J. Howard; later she took sixth 
place in the State contest in Iowa City. The public 
rhetoricals soon became so popular that they were taken 
to the large room in the courthouse in order to accom- 
modate all who wanted to hear them. 

College opened at Toledo with an enrollment of about 
eighty, increased by the end of the year to one hundred 
and ninety-six. The number jumped to two hundred and 
thirty the following year, and then increased more gradu- 
ally until it passed the four hundred mark at the end of 
President Beardshear's term of office. All this time the 
internal life of the school was vigorous and expanding, 
due in a great measure to the large vision and stimulating 
personality of President Beardshear, and to the large 
mould of the men who supported him in the faculty and 
on the administrative boards. 

Old departments were enlarged and new ones organ- 
ized. The Chair of English Literature and Rhetoric was 
filled and that of Modern Language given more promin- 
ence. The old courses in bookkeeping were now organ- 
ized into a distinct Commercial Department with a capa- 
ble principal devoting his whole time to it ; the department 

164 



Reorganisation of Faculty 

was soon full to overflowing. The Music Department 
was given a new and separate organization as the John 
C. Bright Conservatory of Music. A superior director 
was placed at the head with a competent corps of in- 
structors, and soon the Conservatory was flourishing and 
adding both numbers and popularity to the College. A 
Department of Elocution was in the process of growth 
and the Department of Art was taking on larger propor- 
tions. The College was rapidly gaining standing among 
the colleges of the State, and gaining in favor with the 
people. 

As a large part of the history of the period has to do 
with material things, particularly with matters of finance, 
it will be advisable to give considerable attention to such 
things. 

It will be remembered that at the close of its stay at 
Western the College owed, in round numbers, $25,000, 
consisting about equally of accumulated deficits in the 
salaries of the teachers and agents, and of borrowed 
money, and that notes and pledges covering the entire 
amount were secured by June 25, 1881. Most of the 
pledges then given were finally paid, but some were not, 
and those amounts came up ultimately to add to the grow- 
ing burden at Toledo. 

The first great item of expense at Toledo was, of 
course, the providing of buildings and grounds, and the 
second was the necessary deficits in starting so large an 
enterprise on new soil with resources not yet worked up 
to their full productivity. The building planned was 
estimated to cost $40,000. As the people of Toledo 
pledged and paid half of that amount, the authorities of 
the College must provide a like amount while the build- 
ing was in process of erection. This they attempted to 

165 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

do, but at the end of the two years and more required 
to complete the work, it was found that the building, 
the furnishings, and the grading of grounds brought the 
cost up to $50,000, and that all the pledges taken for that 
purpose fell $15,000 short of the required amount. That 
amount and the shrinkage on pledges already taken 
formed the nucleus for the enormous debt that later piled 
upon the back of the College. In the matter of current 
expenses, it was soon found that the difference between 
the regular incomes for that purpose and the necessary 
outlay amounted to about two thousand dollars a year. 
It was also found that the difference between the interest 
on the obligations of the College and that paid on pledges 
— borrowed money exacts interest to the full, while dona- 
tions pay very little — amounted to nearly as much more. 
Ilcnce another source of increasing debt. 

The men charged with the responsibility of directing 
the finances of the College at this complicated period, 
h'dd burdens to bear that the world may never know — 
their days were full of pain, their nights devoid of ease. 
The ever-present sense of burden rested naturally with 
more constancy upon General Financial Agent M. S. 
Drury and his able lieutenant. Soliciting Agent L. H. Buf- 
kin, than upon others. Mr. Drury, especially, put himself 
heart and soul and property under the load. In 1883 he 
resigned the offices of financial agent and treasurer, and 
]\Ir. Bufkin succeeded for many years of aggressive work. 
Closely identified with the agents was the president of the 
College, whose position made him, on the one hand, 
keenly alive to the great things that needed to be done 
in order to give the College prestige, and, on the other, 
to the harassments of finding the wherewithal to do them. 

m 



Reorganization of Faculty 

In the beginning, the Building Committee previously- 
named, to which II. S. Thompson and Stephen Stiger 
were soon added, carried a great share of the business 
worries incident to the task of making a minimum of 
resources cover a maximum of material and workman- 
ship. And both at the beginning and all the time the 
Executive Committee bore the brunt of all plannings and 
the responsibility of final decisions. 

The first Executive Committee at Toledo was composed 
of President Beardshear, by virtue of his office. Dr. E. R. 
Smith, W. F. Johnston, E. C. Ebersole, W. J. Ham, and 
H. S. Thompson. Doctor Smith and Mr. Johnston have 
served on the committee continuously from that day to 
the present, thirty years of time and thought given from 
pressing personal duties, a long consecutive official service 
surpassed only by Dr. George Miller's thirty-six years as 
a member of the Board of Trustees. E. C. Ebersole 
was on the committee for twenty-one years, and if other 
official and semi-official relations to the College should be 
counted, would hold the palm for length of service. 
These men, with S. R. Lichtenwalter, who has been but 
a little shorter time a member of the committee, deserve a 
very high place on the roll of the quiet workers in behalf 
of the College. 

Of the Board of Trustees many names appear in con- 
nection with occasional meetings, several in connection 
with a few annual sessions, and a few names occur con- 
stantly throughout the period under consideration with 
scarcely an absence from a single sitting. George Miller, 
President of the Board since 1881, except an interval of 
two years, undoubtedly holds the honors for long mem- 
bership and uninterrupted attendance; he has missed but 
few sittings since 1875. M. S. Drury, a member for a 

167 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

quarter of a century, was always at his post and took the 
deepest interest in all deliberations. Solomon Lichten- 
walter began meeting with the Board in 1874, and, though 
not quite always a member, has seldom missed a session 
since. W. I. Beatty began attending Board meetings in 
the later '70's, first as an interested listener, then as sec- 
retary, and after 1884 as a duly-qualified member. From 
that date to 1905 a session of the Board without W. I. 
Beatty would have been, like a wedding ceremony from 
which the groomsman was accidentally absent. T. D. 
Adams, too, was long a member, always in his place, 
and ever active. Others not quite so conspicuous for 
term of office or frequent attendance were equally zeal- 
ous in their guardianship of the school. 

During the latter part of President Beardshear's ad- 
ministration, General Agent Bufkin's time was taken up 
largely with the local business management, and the field 
work was turned over to soliciting agents L. B. Hix and 
A. M. Leichliter for three years, and to H. H. Maynard 
and M. S. Drury for two years. 

One of the first special financial plans adopted by the 
Beardshear administration was a formal request to the 
conferences cooperating with the College to levy an 
assessment upon their members sufficient to meet the 
annual deficit in the current expenses of the College, then 
amounting to about $2,000 a year. The conferences 
finally accepted the plan, and included Western College 
among the items on the regular collection sheet each year. 
The plan once in good working order gave the College a 
regular source of income equivalent to a moderate en- 
dowment. With a partial interruption immediately after 
the endowment was secured in 1906, the conference col- 
lections still remain as a helpful yearly income. 

168 



Reorganizatioh of Faculty 

Another plan was to secure $15,000 in Tama County to 
endow a Chair of Natural Science. As the plan was 
launched soon after the assassination of President Gar- 
field the proposed fund was designated as the Garfield 
Memorial Fund, and the chair as the Tama County Chair 
of Natural Science. J. L. Drury was made a special 
agent to solicit for this fund, and spent a year in the 
county securing something less than half the amount 
proposed. The regular College agents worked later 
toward completing the fund. 

At the meeting of the Board, in June, 1883, M. S. 
Drury proposed to give $10,000 toward an endowment 
of $50,000, provided the College secure for the same 
purpose $40,000 on or before Commencement Day, 1885. 
A serious eft'ort was made to meet this condition, the 
pledges amounting at one time to nearly $30,000, yet the 
goal could not quite be reached. 

In a supplement to his report, in June, 1884, the treas- 
urer reveals a most perplexing situation, one so typical 
of what the authorities had to face many times within the 
next twenty years that it should be given here : 

'*At the meeting of the Board one year ago the debt of 
the College was about the same that it is now — in round 
figures, $48,000. Within three months from that time 
at least three- fourths of that amount was due, a part of 
which was paid, and arrangements were made for an 
extension of time on the balance for one year. In addi- 
tion to this, $5,000 was borrowed to so far complete the 
buildings as to accommodate the College with recitation 
rooms, lecture room, cabinet room, and library and read- 
ing rooms. 

"Within three months from this time $40,000 of our 
debt will be due, a considerable part of which will be 

169 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

peremptorily demanded. How to meet this is the per- 
plexing question of the hour, which it is hoped the Board 
will be able to solve. 

■'More than a year ago efforts were made to borrow 
$20,000 at a low rate of interest, for five years, by giving 
a mortgage on the College property for security. Wheti 
it was thought that the money was found, we discovered 
that our articles of incorporation were imperfect, and 
that it would be necessary, in order to effect a loan, to 
draft new articles of incorporation, present them to all 
the cooperating conferences for their approval, and then 
have them adopted by the Board in regular session. To 
accom.plish this would require more than a year, so that 
our opportunity to obtain money upon this plan was cut 
square off. The articles of incorporation have now been 
approved by all the cooperating conferences, and the 
action of the Board is all that is necessary to give us a 
solid footing in this respect. But now the money is not 
to be found in the hands of parties willing to loan such a 
large sum to an institution of this kind, so that we are in 
as bad a dilemma as before. 

"We have ransacked Cedar Rapids and Des Moines 
and have tried almost every loan and trust company in 
the land without success. 

"If it is universally true that the darkest hour is just 
before day, it is evident that the darkness which is so 
thick as to be forcibly felt will soon give way to the dawn 
of a glorious morning." 

The first years at Toledo were years of great things, 
a great building, great and growing enthusiasm, great 
financial prospects, and a great debt. The College was 
making a record, was building for future expansion, and 
so felt compelled to expend beyond its present incomes, 

170 



Reorganisation of Faculty 

trusting to the delusive future for payment. That the 
payment should be long delayed and should come only 
after a struggle, severe enough to wring drops of blood 
from the hearts of those who were forced to go through 
it, was perhaps inevitable, but veiled from present ken 
by the mists of future possibilities. 

If it is true that the history of a nation is but the 
lengthened shadow of a few great men, it is doubly true 
that the history of a college centers in successive periods 
around the lives of a few men who at that time have given 
themselves without limit to advance some of the College's 
vital interests. Because of their large share in the life 
of the College, three men — M. S. Drury, L. H. Bufkin, 
and W. M. Beardshear — deserve fuller and more per- 
sonal treatment than they have yet received, the first 
two for their close connection with the financial interests 
of the school and the last for his contributions to the 
mental and spiritual life of the institution. 

REV. M. S. DRURY. 

Morgan Shortridge Drury was of Quaker ancestry on 
his father's side and of Welch lineage and strong reli- 
gious tendencies on his mother's. He grew up under the 
severe hardships and struggles of pioneer life. Though 
having enjoyed but a few months of stimulating school- 
ing, and but short periods of schooling of any kind, he 
yet came to appreciate the benefits of learning most 
highly, and throughout his life was ready to do anything 
within his power to give the blessing of education to all, 
especially to his own children. Fully convinced, too, that 
education should be distinctly Christian in tone, he natur- 
ally took a deep interest in the efforts of his own Church 
to establish schools of higher learning. Just as naturally, 

m 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

too, he became enlisted in Western College, the school of 
the Church nearest his own home. 

In 1854, Mr. Drury, with his family, then consisting 
of wife, two sons, and one daughter, left his boyhood 
home in Indiana and settled in Winnesheik County, Iowa, 
locating on land, a part of which he purchased from the 
Government. . Here for twenty-one years he improved 
and managed successfully an excellent farm, thereby 
gathering some of the wealth he afterward used so freely 
for the College. 

In 1855, the year in which the Iowa Conference made 
the first move toward establishing the College, Mr. Drury 
was licensed to preach, and then for many years labored 
as itinerant preacher and as presiding elder, still, how- 
ever, retaining the management of his farm until 1875, 
at which time he removed to Western in order to be near 
the College. 

Mr. Drury's official connection with the College began 
with his election as trustee in 1865, from which time he 
served the school in one capacity or another for about 
thirty years, much of the time as solicitor, general agent, 
and treasurer. Much of his official life has already been 
presented. Some of his best service, however, was un- 
official and personal. He was quick to see the possibili- 
ties wrapped up in undeveloped boys and girls, and was 
ever on the alert to turn such toward the College, Many 
times he himself furnished the means whereby a promis- 
ing young man was started on a career. The great im- 
portance he attached to education is seen in his letting 
his own boys leave the farm at fifteen and sixteen, at a 
time when the farm was rapidly making money and the 
help of the boys was greatly needed. At one time all 
four of his children were in school. 

172 



Reorganization of Faculty 

The following paragraphs from the tribute prepared by 
the Executive Committee of the College and read at Mr. 
Drury's funeral in 1902, give an inner glimpse of his 
devotion to the school : 

"After years of almost fruitless effort, he was one of 
the first to conclude that the College could not reach 
ultimate success unless it was removed to a better loca- 
tion, and, when so convinced, he became an earnest advo- 
cate of its removal, and no one person was more influ- 
ential than he in securing its removal to Toledo. In this 
he incurred the life-long enmity of property-holders at the 
original site, the value of whose property was dependent 
upon the College ; but he himself cheerfully sacrificed his 
elegant home in order that the College might have a better 
location. 

"He came to Toledo with the College, and at once 
began to purchase and improve property; and what he 
did in this way proved contagious, and gave a distinct 
impetus to the improvement and beautifying of the homes 
of the town. He built a new home for himself, much in 
excess of his needs, and gave as a reason that there was 
no better way to help the College than by surrounding it 
with good homes. His house soon became the scene of 
m-^any elegant entertainments, whose purpose and effect 
were to give an uplift to society in general, and especially 
to introduce, in this pleasant way, the new-coming College 
people to the older citizens of the town. The delightful- 
ness of these entertainments must, in a great degree, be 
placed to the credit of his wife, who was in entire sym- 
pathy with him in his zeal for the College. 

"The financial crises through which the College passed 
while Mr. Drury was either its treasurer or its financial 
agent were known to only a few. He knew that to pub- 

173 



Western — Leander-Clark Colles^e 



t>' 



lish the facts would mean almost certain disaster, and, to 
meet the emergency, he more than once pledged his entire 
fortune (which was no small sum) to tide the College 
over a crisis. In the end, he gave practically all of that 
fortune to the College. Had he retained it, and devoted 
his splendid abilities to its increase, he must have died a 
rich man, leaving a magnificent sum for distribution to 
his widow and children. To each of his children he gave 
a good education in Western College, and, by virtue of 
their home and college training, they have gone forth in- 
fluential factors for good in the moral, social, and spirit- 
ual world. Who will say that, with such equipment, and 
with the just pride they must feel in the noble record left 
by their parents in such unselfish devotion to a good cause, 
they have not a richer legacy than wealth can give?" 

The following extracts from letters written to his son, 
Professor A. W. Drury, show how much Mr. Drury's 
thought and interest turned toward the College during the 
last months and weeks of his life. One reads also be- 
tween the lines a tender appeal to the children to judge 
charitably a devotion that led the father to lavish his 
wealth upon a public benefaction instead of reserving it 
for his own family. 

From a letter written from Pasadena, California, to 
A. W. Drury, March 12, 1902: 

"No one, dead or living, gave so much of money, time, 
and mental strain as I did to save the College to the 
Church. As I see it now, no one else likely would have 
gone through the terrible struggle to pay off the old debt 
and then meet the persecution and overcome all obstacles 
and move the school. To do this and then furnish the 
$5,000 cash to start the work at Toledo before any of 
the $20,000 subscription given could be collected or begun, 

174 



Reorganisation of Faculty 

was more than any other man would have done. I write 
these facts to you now, as I feel sure that you will not 
overestimate or underestimate the sacrifices your mother 
and I have made to prevent the death of Western College 
and thus save the Church in Iowa and bless it elsewhere. 
I have paid in money, donated in salary, and sacrificed 
on lands for the College more than any one else — ^$30,000 
being too small an estimate. I need not mention the 
abuse endured — as it is past — and the extreme hardships 
your mother endured for the College and the strain that 
culminated in her paralysis. We do not write to you 
these things in a comiplaining way, but to call your atten- 
tion to them as a matter of history. We are glad that 
the school has survived and now promises much to the 
Church and to humanity." 

From a letter written from Pasadena, California, to 
A. W. Drury, March 2, 1898 : 

"If I had not become responsible for large College 
debts after selling the farm and giving my attention to 
the ministry, it would have been pleasant and perhaps 
better. I think, however, the College would have closed 
its doors at Western and the Toledo school would not 
have existed. As it is, however, may be it is well, but 
I would not again attempt to carry a burden others should 
have borne." 

From a letter written from Pasadena, California, to 
A. W. Drury, September 4, 1902 : 

"Seventy-six years of most arduous labors have passed 
and now the future is bright and hopeful. My life has 
not been what could have been desired, but under a merci- 
ful providence and good surroundings some good has 
been done. 'The Lord is my Shepherd.' " 

175 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

REV. L. H. BUFKIN. 

Rev. L. H. Bufkin, a member of Des Moines Confer- 
ence, became identified with the College in 1879, at which 
time his conference elected him as a trustee. Soon after 
he was elected a soliciting agent, in which capacity he was 
unusually successful. Then for thirteen years he was 
closely connected with the finances of the College, most 
of the time as general agent and treasurer. Mr. Bufkin 
was an indefatigable worker, fertile in resources, full of 
devices for surmounting difficulties and capable of large 
faith in a trying situation. He has already told of his 
share in raising the old debt at Western. For the first 
two years at Toledo he was the most active and successful 
of the soliciting agents. Of his work after he became 
general financial manager the reader will be pleased to 
learn from Mr. Bufkin's personal narrative. It is inter- 
esting to learn in this intimate confidential way how a 
college agent must sometimes chase delusive hopes in 
order to avoid missing any opportunity to obtain sub- 
stantial results. 

"At the meeting of the Board, in June, 1883, Rev. M. S. 
Drury, who had, for many years, been the financial man- 
ager, feeling the burden too heavy for him longer to 
carry, retired from the office and I was elected to the 
position of general manager and treasurer. This created 
some uneasiness upon the part of the creditors, and some 
predicted a crisis which would be disastrous to the Col- 
lege. A few days after I had assumed the duties of the 
office, I met a man on the street of Toledo of whom the 
College had borrowed $8,000. He informed me very 
positively that he wanted his m.oney. I knew that he 
did not need the money and would not know what to do 
with it if he had it, but I asked how soon he wanted it. 

176 




REV. LEWIS BOOKWALTER, D.D. 
President of Western College 1894 to 1904. including the Great Debt-raising 
Campaign. Member of the Faculty Sixteen years. 




JOHN DODDS 
The constant friend of the College during the days of sore trial. 



Reorganisation of Faculty 

He said within ten days or two weeks would do. I told 
him all right; he should have his money. I had not the 
least idea where any of it was to come from, but had 
full faith that providence would provide some way. A 
few days later I met him again and he told me that if I 
would make a new note with the same endorsers that 
he already had, we could have the money another year. 
This I did and we kept the money five years. 

"I continued in the office of general manager and 
treasurer for eight years, and in 1891 resigned and ac- 
cepted the pastorate of a charge at Perry, Iowa. Soon 
after I had moved and settled in Perry, President Mills 
visited me and pleaded so hard that I again accepted the 
office of field secretary, and held it for two years, making 
in all thirteen years of service for the College. 

"Associated with me in raising funds for the College 
were H. H. Maynard, Rev. A. M. Leichliter, and proba- 
bly some others whom I have forgotten. Mr. Leichliter 
worked mainly in Tama County in an efifort to raise an 
endowment fund. Mr. Maynard was a successful solici- 
tor and secured some fine donations. 

''About 1885, Mrs. Mary Beatty, of Illinois, gave 
$10,000 to build Mary Beatty Hall, a boarding house for 
lady students, on condition that the College was to pay 
her six per cent, interest annually on that amount during 
her life. At her death the interest was to cease and the 
money was to become the property of the College. After 
her death the administrator sued the College for the 
$10,000, but the courts decided the case in favor of the 
College. 

"While attending an annual conference in Colorado, I 
was told by a member of the conference of a very poor 
man, who, with his family, were members of the Church 

177 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

in Pueblo, who was expecting about a million dollars 
from an estate in England. I went to see them, and, 
after several consultations with him, he agreed that as 
soon as he received his "windfall" he would make a dona- 
tion of $100,000 to the College. He had a brother living 
in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and when I came home and 
reported, the Executive Committee sent me to Pittsburg 
to see the brother. I hunted him up and he agreed with 
his brother that the estate was due, but said that there 
were some legal questions to be settled before they would 
receive it. I kept an eye on the matter tmtil two or 
three years later, when the brother in Pueblo died, then 
gave it up. While in Pittsburg I visited Andrew Car- 
negie, but received nothing from him at the time except 
good advice and encouraging words. 

"At one time there were ten conferences cooperating 
with Western College — Iowa, East Des Moines, West 
Des Moines, Rock River, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minne- 
sota, East Nebraska, West Nebraska, and Colorado. I 
attended the annual sessions of these conferences, and, 
without an exception, was always accorded a hearty 
reception, and on no occasion was made to feel that I was 
an unwelcome visitor at any Conference. I sometimes 
acted as temporary chairman, sometimes as secretary 
pro tern., usually preached one evening during the con- 
ference week, and always kept an eye open for students 
and two eyes open for money for the College. I generally 
dictated the report on education, and when the timQ came 
for its consideration, made a cracking good speech." 

PRESIDENT W. M. BEARDSHEAR. 

The eight years spent by William Miller Beardshear as 
the head of Western College form but a chapter — one of 

178 



Reorganization of Faculty 

the earlier chapters — in the career of a truly great man. 
For him personally that period was an important stage in 
his development, a period of unfolding for his great 
powers and of trying his strength ; for the College it was 
an epoch-making period of advancing standards and 
expanding hopes. Something of President Beardshear's 
share in the outside, material, and tangible affairs of the 
College has already been, given. It remains to give some- 
thing of his relation to the inner life of the institution, 
the more intimate touch of spirit, the impress of person- 
ality upon personality. 

We who were fortunate enough to be students in those 
days remember that towering form, those mighty limbs 
instinct with latent strength, and that rugged face, now 
fit to awe an empire into obedience and now suffused with 
tenderest sympathy or lit up with a glow of pleasure at 
the beauty of a rose or the song of a wren. We remem- 
ber still the touch of that hand and how it sent through 
us a current of hope and courage and let us know that our 
difficulties were fully understood. We remember the 
stimulating freshness and manly vigor of the ideals he 
brought us in his numerous chapel talks, brief talks into 
which he condensed the essence of his communion with 
nature and with books, and especially with the Unseen. 
Pleasing memories of these still linger about the chapel 
where many a needed admonition was lightly passed over 
with a sly smile and the old adage, "A hint to the wise 
is sufficient." 

President Beardshear was born and raised on a farm, 
a life from which he drew a kind of elemental strength 
and imbibed a love for nature with her myriads of beau- 
tiful forms and countless wee things, and acquired a 
quick, intuitive understanding of her vast processids. 

179 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

Aflame with the fires of patriotism, he enhsted as a boy 
of fourteen and carried his drum at the head of the 
column to the end of the war. Hungry for learning, he 
completed the course at Otterbein, and then spent three 
years in graduate study at Yale. Astir with spiritual 
ideals, he took up the work of a Christian minister, to 
turn from it only because his true calling was to be found 
in the field of education. When the presidency of 
Western College was offered him in 1881, he accepted, 
and, having found his work, went at it with his might. 
With him there could be no loitering, no half-hearted en- 
deavor. He lavished upon the school his splendid powers 
for organization, his boundless energies and great stores 
of human sympathy and tactful sway over growing lives. 
Often harassed by the material limitations and perplex- 
ing difficulties of his position, he would go for solace and 
refreshing back to the heart of nature, or to his loved 
poets, and, above all, to the Book. Often in the dusk 
of evening, and occasionally in the gray of morning, was 
he seen striding along the grove that skirts the campus, 
hands behind his back, head erect, eyes and ears alert for 
nature's many forms and countless voices and heart re- 
sponsive to her message, or standing with sudden halt, 
feet planted far apart, and eyes fixed beyond the bounds 
of time and space as some great thought or wave of emo- 
tion swept his soul. Many a time at evening after the 
lamps were lit, stretched at full length upon his study 
couch, with his favorite Browning or Whitman in his 
hand and the Bible open at his elbow, he drank in the 
inspiration that compelled men to listen when he spoke. 
This is the man a few knew and adored, the charm of 
whose personality many more felt without knowing why. 
The two years as superintendent of schools at Des 

180 



Reorganisation of Faculty 

Moines were but an interval, a kind of stepping stone. 
President Beardshear's true life work was found when 
he was placed at the head of Iowa State College. Here 
for eleven years all his talent for organization and all 
his gifts for moulding young lives were given fullest 
play. Here he used up his vast energies at such high 
rate that the end came August 5, 1902, when he was but 
fifty- two. 

On the wall of his private office at Ames there hung 
for years this poster, "1 expect to pass through this world 
but once; and any good that I can do or any kindness 
that I can show to any human fellow-being, let me do it 
now; let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass 
this way again." The nozv was heavily underscored, 
the whole motto showing President Beardshear's ideal of 
living, and the underscored word his placing of life's 
emphasis. 

This tribute must close with two passages from the 
account of the memorial services held in the College 
chapel at Ames, September 5, 1902. 

"This dust was once the man, 
Gentle, plain, just, and resolute." 

"Upon the green hill, in a fresh-made grave, lie the 
mortal remains of one of the nobility of earth, whose 
friends gathered last Sunday almost in view of his rest- 
ing place to pay the last public service to his memory, 
though within many hearts remembrance will spring per- 
ennial. His body rests beneath the stalwart native trees, 
fit sepulchre for his stalwart frame, like them indigenous 
to the soil. For him was carved anew the epitaph of 
friendship and for him anew was shed the falling tear, 
and in each mournful breast was felt anew the grief of 

181 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

loss. Again the burden of sorrow pressed heavily 
against weary shoulders, and again was brought to mind 
the aw fulness of the conquest of death, and it was almost 
with the first poignancy of grief that here were gathered 
his friends and family, students and faculty, at the begin- 
ning of a new term and for the first Sunday chapel, greet- 
ing with tear-dimmed eyes the familiar surroundings 
while he, majestic in life, has now passed the portals of 
death. 

"The platform, beautiful in its banking of palms and 
flowers, was made conspicuous by a great bunch of 
American beauties at the right of the reading table, show- 
ing that loving hearts had again remembered his favorite, 
fit type of the blood of his manhood that had poured out 
in imperishable form its crimson tide on the altar of a 
common good for the school in all its departments. 

"The real center of a college's destiny-making activity 
is where faculty and students are busy with their daily 
tasks. It is here, in this sacred college home circle, that 
I like best to place, in memory, our beloved president. 
He moved among us as we might imagine some great- 
hearted, benevolent, masterful prince of a chivalrous age 
to have moved among his people. As a faculty, we 
worked with him, not under him. His commission as 
our leader needed no attestation of authority. It was 
never necessary to idealize him in order to make him 
great. He grew upon us as we came near him in the 
performance of our daily duties. His enormous capacity 
for work, his knowledge of men, his insight into motives, 
his quick grasp of the trend of things, his wise judgment 
of means, his confidence in his own decisions, and his 
faith in the final triumph of right commanded our ever- 
increasing respect ; and when, in his loftier moods, he rose 

182 



Reorganisation of Faculty 

to grander heights, the clearness of his vision, the mighty 
sweep of his thought, and his marvelous power of putting 
great truths into language that convinced and inspired, 
filled us with a regard that bordered on reverence." 

Around President Beardshear was gathered an unusu- 
ally strong faculty. Besides those already mentioned as 
constituting the first faculty at Toledo, several distin- 
guished for scholarship, strong personality, or special effi- 
ciency were afterward added. Professor I. A. Loos, who 
came in 1884 directly from graduate studies in Leipsic, 
Germany, preceded by some years at Yale, brought a 
quality of wide scholarship that helped greatly in giving 
prestige to the College. He remained until 1889, a force 
that touched all sides of college life, and then went to the 
State University of Iowa, one of many strong teachers 
Western sent to larger institutions. Professor C. J. 
Kephart gave his unlimited energies to the Department of 
Mathematics and his intense personality to the life of 
the school for two years. Professor Herbert Oldham, first 
Director of the Conservatory of Music, is still remembered 
for his superior skill in playing the piano and pipe-organ. 
Professor O. O. Runkle, first Principal of the Commercial 
Department, laid the broad foundations upon which his 
successor. Professor E. F. Warren, built the largest and 
most enthusiastic Commercial Department in the history 
of the institution. Professor A. L. DeLong, first dis- 
tinct Professor of English Literature and Rhetoric filled 
the chair but one year, 1883-84, after which the position 
was vacant until the coming of Professor J. S. Mills in 
the fall of 1887. Professor Mills brought logical schol- 
arship, large church prestige, and great personal dignity, 
qualities that gave him the presidency of the College upon 
the retirement of President Beardshear^ Considerable 

183 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

was added to the mental and spiritual life of the school 
through periodical lectures on assigned subjects by Bishop 
Jonathan Weaver, Bishop E. B. Kephart, Hon. L. G. 
Kinne, Hon. E. C. Ebersole, Dr. E. R. Smith, and Rev. 
B. M. Long. Mr. Long, as College pastor, came into 
very intimate touch with the lives of the students and 
exerted over them an influence that was sweet and whole- 
some and permanently elevating. 

Student activities multiplied during this period, and 
student organizations began to reach out and affiliate with 
like organizations in other colleges of the State. Students 
of Western took part in the State Oratorical Contest. A 
Y. M. C. A. was organized, and a Y. W. C. A. a little 
later. The Teacher and Student, the first paper edited 
and published by students, was conducted for a few years. 
The literary societies increased in numbers and enthusi- 
asm. The social life of the College community became 
more conscious, more unified, more mature. 

Many of the students who went far into or through 
the course at this period have gone out to fill positions 
of influence and importance in the professions or in busi- 
ness ; some of them, left a deep impress upon the slowly 
changing student ideals to which each generation contri- 
butes a share. W. C. Smith and T. PL Studebaker, com- 
posing the first graduating class at Toledo, belong rather 
to the days at old Western, though both, since graduation, 
have kept in close touch with the College. Josie Patter- 
son, a sunny influence in student circles, even yet has not 
lost her enthusiasm, and rarely misses a commencement 
season. J. F. Lefller and Cyrus Timmons, positive forces 
in literary society and other college activities, were early 
graduated into the life beyond. Dan Fulcomer has lived 
to become an authority on all the quaint and curious lore 



Reorganisation of Faculty 

relating to different races of mankind; he is now at the 
national Capital as Government expert in modern lan- 
guages. C. M. Brooke will be remembered for his activ- 
ity in his literary society and other phases of college life, 
and later for his prominence in connection with educa- 
tional interests of the Church. R. L. Swain has cast a 
long shadow behind him because of his thoughtful seri- 
ousness, and particularly because of his gift of song and 
his power in public speech. None who knew him can 
forget Jess Runkle, genial as a comrade, tenacious for his 
convictions, loyal to his friends and to his College, later 
cut down just as he was making a name and a place for 
himself in his profession. 

May Kephart and Fannie Thompson are remembered 
still for their large share in chapel song and Sabbath choir, 
and Geneve Lichtenwalter for her piano playing. Dan 
Filkins, fleet-footed, good-natured happy-go-lucky chaser 
of the flying sphere, with his spontaneous enthusiasm for 
baseball, did much toward establishing a wholesome ath- 
letic spirit in the school. Bennett, Bonebrake, Filkins, 
Patterson, Slessor, Wilcox, Zumbro, Esther Butler, Clara 
Cozad, Elnora Dickman, Gazelle Halstead, May Kephart, 
Geneve Lichtenwalter, Mary Louthan, Edna Thompson, 
classmates in the dear old college days — God bless them 
all ; and of a later class, Squire Beatty, Ed. Buchner, Ben 
Cokely, and Will Krohn, two of them already promoted 
to the higher life, have by their deeds helped to lay solid 
foundations upon which the College's future fame and 
greatness rests secure. These and many more, whom 
space forbids even to name, came, brought something to 
the common college life, took something away with them, 
and left much behind. 



185 



Chapter X. 

THIRD CRISAL PERIOD. BURNING OF MAIN BUILD- 
ING. BURDEN OF REBUILDING. GROWING FINANCIAL 
EMBARRASSMENTS. INTERNAL LIFE. FACULTY AND 
STUDENTS. CRISIS OF 1893-94. 

The period from the close of the year 1889 to 1894 
may be designated as the third crisal period in the life of 
the College, a crisis that threatened colossal and over- 
whelming disaster compared with which the crisis just 
before the removal from Western and the one following 
the Civil War sink into insignificance. The period of 
expansion during the years immediately preceding had 
brought on what seems inevitable under the circumstances 
even in the hard-headed business world, namely, the 
reaching out far beyond present resources and the conse- 
quent incurring of large obligations with a more or less 
blind trust that a kind future will provide even larger 
means wherewith to meet those obligations. 

In the report of the Ways and Means Committee, in 
June, 1888, is found the following item : 

"That while the total expenditure of the College for 
the year seems large, it must be remembered that the work 
of the institution is also growing rapidly wider in extent 
and influence and higher in character, and that some 
schemes of magnitude have been undertaken and prose- 
cuted to some extent (not without hope) for placing the 
College upon a broad and permanent foundation. 

"This growth and these efforts have required the ex- 
penditure of large sums of money, but we find no evi- 
dence of any extravagance in any quarter. On the other 
hand, we think that the finances of the institution have 

186 



Third Crisal Period 

been admirably managed, and we are pleased to report 
that the credit of the College is unquestioned in business, 
both at home and abroad. Nevertheless, good credit 
should not lead to any of the carelessness that often 
attends prosperity; and we recommend that all expendi- 
tures be carefully guarded and that all dues be carefully 
and promptly collected, even to the smallest sums." 

The ''schemes of magnitude" referred to with hope- 
fulness by the report were those for raising the sum of 
$200,000, to be known as the "Fund of 1889." As that 
fund occupied the energies of the College authorities for 
some time, and served as an anchor of hope, the circular 
issued at the time is reproduced below. 

"plans for the securement 

OF 

$200,000. 

ADOPTED JANUARY IItH, 1888. 

"Western College hereby orders a canvass to be made 
for the securing of an additional fund of not less than 
$200,000, to be known as the Tund of 1889,' on the fol- 
lowing terms and conditions, to wit: 

"1. Said fund shall be invested or expended, at the 
discretion of the College, for endowment, building, or 
other purposes, as the best interests of the College may 
seem to require, unless otherwise designated by the 
donor. 

"2. No obligation for the said fund shall be valid or 
collectible until $200,000 is secured in cash, or such obli- 
gations as the College shall approve, unless such sum 
shall be secured on or before July 1, 1890, nor until 
notice that such sum has been secured shall be published 
by authority of the College in the Religious Telescope^ 

187 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

of Dayton, Ohio ; but after such sum has been so secured, 
and said notice has been given, such obligations shall be 
valid and collectible, and shall draw interest at the rate 
of six per cent, per annum, from January 1st, 1890, 
payable on the first day of January of each year there- 
after. 

"3. The name of the College may be changed, and 
shall be awarded to the person, or number of persons 
acting in concert to that end, who shall contribute to said 
fund in cash, or satisfactory securities, the sum of $100,- 
000, provided that the name proposed meets the approval 
of the College. 

"4. Should the said $200,000 be secured, the College 
proposes to erect, in the near future, as the collection of 
the funds may justify, the following buildings: 

''Observatory and Science Hall. 
"Museum and Art Building. 
"Library Building. 

"If any person or persons shall contribute, as a part 
of said fund, the sum of $25,000, and shall appropriate it 
for the erection, or the erection and equipment, of either 
of such buildings, the College will, upon the payment of 
such sum by such person or persons, in cash or available 
securities, proceed to the erection of such building, and 
will award the naming of the building to such person or 
persons, provided that the name proposed shall be ap- 
proved by the College. 

"5. Any person, or number of persons acting in con- 
cert, may appropriate their contributions to the endow- 
ment of a professorship in the College, and if the sum so 
appropriated'shall appear to the College to be adequate to 
the purpose, such person or persons shall be awarded the 



Third Crisal Period 

naming of such professorship, provided the name pro- 
posed be acceptable to the College. 

"6. The names of all persons who give $100 or more 
to said fund shall be published in the College catalogue 
as soon as practicable after the said fund is secured. 

"The names of the donors to said fund who give $5 
or more shall be preserved, and each of such donors 
furnished a cut of the College. 

"The names of all donors to said fund shall be pub- 
lished in the Toledo Collegian. 

"7. All contributions less than $25 shall be payable 
in cash, on demand, as soon as the said fund is secured, 
and notice given thereof." 

The report of the treasurer, in June, 1889, shows some 
interesting figures. At that time the College still owed 
on the Building Fund, $30,852; on Contingent Fund, 
$25,710; and to teachers, $1,740; a total of $58,302. As 
an offset the College held building notes, $15,661, and 
Contingent Notes, $5,331.36. The expenses for the year 
ending June 1, 1889, amounted to $7,388.31 above the 
incomes for the same period, a high-water mark in defi- 
cits. As grounds of encouragement the College had 
buildings, real estate, and equipments estimated at $135,- 
650 ; endowment notes, $98,490, including the old Western 
endowment, the Drury endowment, and the Tama County 
Garfield Memorial; and pledges aggregating $23,015 on 
the Fund of 1889. 

Summing up the situation, especially with reference to 
raising the $200,000, the report goes on to say: 

"We have launched out into the deep. A failure to 
reach the shore would be a sad calamity indeed. But we 
do not expect such a calamity. The fact that our honored 
captain has vacated his place should not be a cause for 

189 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

discouragement. Room is thereby made for some other 
great man who will doubtless lead us forward with as 
bright hopes of final victory as we ever cherished. It 
may also throw us upon our own resources, and bring into 
activity a large number whose united strength may far 
exceed the strength of the one upon whom we have 
depended so fully. We should now generate more steam, 
hang a sledge hammer on the safety valve, seek the aid 
of that mighty unseen engine which is controlled by the 
divine hand which directs in the promotion of every good 
cause, and shout with a ring that will echo and reecho 
throughout the full extent of our broad territory, Tull for 
the shore.' " 

Such, then, was the situation when President Beard- 
shear laid down the mantle of the presidency, and Pro- 
fessor J. S. Mills was chosen to succeed to the burdens of 
that office. President Mills accepted the position believ- 
ing that the College authorities understood the great re- 
sponsibilities that they were laying upon him, and assured 
by the Board in strongest terms that the warmest sym- 
pathy and the heartiest support were back of him in his 
great undertaking. The new administration started out 
hopefully, only to be overtaken in a few short months 
by a calamity that tried the souls of all the friends of the 
College and almost crushed President Mills — the calamity 
of a disastrous fire. 

The following account printed in the Tama County 
Democrat is a vivid description of the fire and the con- 
sternation its ravages brought to the community; the 
report gives also some hint of the grim resolve that fol- 
lowed the first dismay to rise in one united effort and 
repair the loss : 

190 



Third Crisal Period 

'*On the morning of December 26, after a beautiful 
Christmas day, at about 1 :30 a.m., the people of Toledo 
were aroused from their slumbers by the alarm of fire. If 
there is anything calculated to strike terror to the heart 
of man, it is a fire alarm in the dead of night. The 
cause of this alarm was a blaze discovered in the east end 
of the magnificent college building. In just what part 
the fire had originated can hardly be determined, but 
suffice it to say that it was near the east end. The fire 
department responded quickly to the alarm, the engine, 
hook and ladder, and both hose carts soon being on the 
grounds. The fire by this time had gained considerable 
headway, but it was thought that it could be extinguished. 
Imagine then the feeling, which well nigh struck dumb 
the assembled multitude, when it was discovered that the 
cisterns in the vicinity of the College, and which were the 
only source from which water could be obtained, were 
all dry, or nearly so. It was evident then that no water 
could be thrown, and at the same time became apparent 
that the grand building with all its contents, the pride of 
Toledo and Tama County, on which our good United 
Brethren friends had built their hopes for years, must 
perish, perish entire, with a large gathering of hundreds 
of people standing helpless, powerless to stay the work 
of great destruction. When it became so evident that all 
must be lost, strong men, men who stand at the top in the 
estimation of the people, shed tears — ^bitter tears — 
and who could blame them. It was indeed a heart- 
rending sight, to see the flames as they rapidly licked up 
everything in their path, constantly spreading from room 
to room, through corridor and hall, up the stairs and 
through the ceiling, until the entire east wing was a mass 
of flame. To our young people it was a source of sad- 

191 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

ness indeed to watch the flames as they crept steadily 
into the two society halls, where they suddenly burst out 
with renewed vigor, consuming there the fruits of years 
of their faithful labor. The elegant furniture, the fine 
pianos, organs, and all had to go. Nor did the flame 
stop in the east wing ; with a strong wind directly against 
it, the fire slowly, but surely, crept into the west part, 
gaining headway each moment, until in less than an hour 
and a half after the alarm was given this entire building, 
erected at the cost of about $75,000, was a mass of flames 
with the roof falling in in every part. It burned steadily, 
but every moment more fiercely, and in a little over two 
hours after the alarm nothing remained to tell the story 
of the once great building but the bare walls with a 
smouldering mass within. The tall tower stood, and it 
was for a time thought that the fine costly bell might be 
saved, but nothing was to be saved. The hungry flames 
reached it and it fell with a crash at about five o'clock 
a.m. There, in the early morning, stood crowds of men 
and women gazing sorrowfully upon the wonderful struct- 
ure, erected with such care, such labor, and under such 
difliculty, upon which such hopes had been built, hopes 
seemingly a few short hours before to be soon realized. 
They watched the structure crumble, wilt, and vanish 
under the power of the fierce conflagration which held 
full sway. The wind, which was blowing a gale from the 
northwest, carried a perfect current of sparks, burning 
wood, etc., to the southeast, firing the grass along the 
path and even carrying as far as the cemetery, where 
several fires were ignited. Scores of men battled with 
these flames, finally succeding in gaining control of them 
with little damage done, except a few fences fired. Grad- 
ually did the fire die out and the people went slowly and 

192 




Whose timely gift of 



MAJOR LEANDER CLARK 
50,000 secured to the College its endowment of $150,000. 




REV. C. J. KEPHART 

President 190.5-1908, during which time the Endowment Effort reached 
a successful termination. 



Third Crisal Period 

sorrowfully to their homes to snatch a little sleep before 
the labors of the day began. 

"The dawn of Thursday presented an appalling spectacle 
to the eye. There were the bare walls, smoking and smoul- 
dering, the only monument left to tell where a few short 
hours before one of the finest college buildings in Iowa 
had stood. A few scattering pieces of furniture, books, 
papers, etc., lay strewn about the premises, all that was 
saved of the extensive outfit of Western College. The 
Thompson Cabinet, presented by Mrs. Charles Mason, 
and considered the finest in the State, had vanished alas, 
in a few brief moments, in smoke. The value of this 
cabinet alone is estimated at $50,000. The mammoth 
library, the pride of the College, alas, was gone with the 
remainder of the equipments. The loss is estimated at 
from $125,000 to $150,000, with an insurance of $22,000 
on the same. 

"The wreck seemed complete, and the question arose, 
'Can we rebuild?' The question scarcely arose until it 
was answered. The Executive Board held a meeting at 
once and determined that the school would begin in one 
week in another building, and be conducted the same, 
even though it be poorly accommodated. The citizens 
of Toledo at once got out posters, stating that there would 
be a meeting in the United Brethren Church at two o'clock 
for the purpose of making arrangements for the rebuild- 
ing of the College. The meeting was held and every 
business house in the city closed in order that all might 
attend. All did attend, and a good meeting it was. 
G. R. Struble was selected chairman and A. T. Wilson 
and Chas. S. Bradshaw, secretaries. Speeches were made 
by Messrs. Struble, Beardshear, Kinne, Stiger, Johnston, 
Ebersole, Stivers, Smith and others and the matter was 

193 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

thoroughly discussed. It was decided that $75,000 is 
needed at least, and the following resolution, which was 
presented by Judge Kinne, was unanimously adopted : 

'' 'Resolved, That it is the sense of this meeting that the 
citizens assembled proceed at once to take the necessary 
steps to raise $25,000 for the rebuilding of Western Col- 
lege.' 

"A committee, consisting of Judge Kinne, Hon. H. J. 
Stiger, and F. E. Smith, was appointed by the chair to 
confer with a committee from the College and to deter- 
mine as nearly as possible the amount of money needed 
and what terms could be given on subscription. The 
meeting was then adjourned to Friday evening, at 7 : 30 
o'clock, and at that meeting we believe the $25,000 will 
be raised, and more. W. F. Johnston has offered $1,000 
and it may be more. Bishop Kephart has said he will give 
$1,000 provided five others can be obtained who will do 
the same. Hon. H. J. Stiger has a paper in circulation 
offering to head a list of twenty who will give $500 each, 
and it is being rapidly filled. There is no question in our 
minds but that Western College will be rebuilt, and that at 
once, and we firmly believe that one year from to-day will 
see a much better building there than the one destroyed. 
Our citizens must see that it is rebuilt. It is the life of 
our town. In the language of Judge Kinne, Tt is not a 
question of what v/e ought to give, but what we have got 
to give.' The moving of Western College to Toledo 
enhanced the value of property here nearly fifty per cent., 
and there is no question in our minds it would decrease 
it, were the College removed. No ! No ! it must stay, is 
the popular voice of Toledo people, and when they say 
so they mean it. We can give positive assurance that 
there will be no hesitation about this matter. Our citi- 

194 



Third Crisal Period 

zens are at work and there will be no sleep until the 
money necessary is raised. Bishop Kephart assures us 
that the Church outside of Toledo may be depended upon 
for $50,000, and we can assure the people that Toledo 
will raise at least $25,000. It is a matter of county inter- 
est and county pride that this college is rebuilt, and it 
should receive donations from all parts of the county. 
Come to the rescue, everybody, and show what manner of 
m.en we are." 

President Mills was in the East on the night of the fire, 
sent on a mission in behalf of the College, but fortunately 
Bishop Kephart and ex-President Beardshear were both 
at home for the holidays and gave the benefit of their 
large experience and wise counsel to General Agent Buf- 
kin, the Executive Committee, and the faculty in the hour 
of first perplexity. Even while the building was still 
burning the authorities held an impromptu meeting on 
the frozen ground near the fire, pierced by the biting 
wind on one side and blistered by the intense heat on the 
other, and determined that the winter term of school 
should open as previously announced. The next day the 
Executive Committee met and issued the following circu- 
lar letter to students : 

"Toledo, Iowa, December 26, 1889. 
"Dear Friend: The College building burned this 
morning at two o'clock, of which you have doubtless 
heard, but notwithstanding, the winter term of the College 
will begin at the time indicated, January 2, and the work 
will proceed without interruption. Ample room has been 
provided for all recitations and work, both in the literary 
and business departments. Plans are already on foot to 

195 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

rebuild at once, and the people are enthusiastic and a unit 
in pressing the work to completion. The business places 
of the city were closed this afternoon and the citizens 
assembled in mass convention to give impulse to the work 
of rebuilding. It is determined that the good work of the 
College shall not only continue, but continue with in- 
creased influence. We shall look for you at the opening 
of the term. Come, and lend your influence to bring 
others." 

The people of Toledo realizing what it meant to the 
community to have the College again set on its feet, and 
spurred on in a measure perhaps by the offers that began 
to come in from other towns bidding for the College, 
went systematically and energetically to work, and in due 
time had their share of the cost of rebuilding secured in 
notes and pledges. 

A special meeting of the Board of Trustees was called 
for February 4, 1890, to determine matters of rebuilding 
and to hear propositions for relocation. At that session 
a syndicate of Des Moines real estate men presented a 
proposition that the Board felt should at least be consid- 
ered and so adjourned to meet again February 18. At 
the second meeting the Des Moines proposition was again 
up and fully considered in the light of investigations that 
had been conducted in the interval. It was finally decided 
that the College should remain at Toledo, and the Execu- 
tive and Building Committees were instructed to proceed 
with the rebuilding either upon the old foundation or on 
a new site, one building or more as in their judgment 
might seem best. 

Meanwhile the winter term of school had opened. The 
regular college and academy classes were held in the 

196 



Third Crisal Period 

rooms of Beatty Hall, temporarily fitted up for recitation 
purposes. The commercial department found quarters 
in the hall of the Toledo Fire Company through the gen- 
erosity of that organization. The students came back 
loyally, and students and teachers alike submitted uncom- 
plainingly to the inconveniences and limitations of their 
temporary quarters ; an example of that admirable trait 
of human nature which makes virtue of necessity and 
turns even the serious aspects of life into occasions for 
smiles. Classes were held in Beatty Hall during the 
winter and spring terms. By the opening of the fall term 
work on the new building had so far progressed that a 
few rooms could be utilized for class purposes. To these 
the students came, creeping through scaffolding and dodg- 
ing workmen, and recited to the resounding accompani- 
ment of hammers and saws. 

Now for a time the material and business aspects of 
college life again overshadowed the psychological and 
personal. The fire came and added a grievous loss to a 
debt already nearly sixty thousand dollars. The whole of 
the insurance on the old building, $22,000, was taken to 
satisfy imperative creditors, and new money must be 
found for both building and equipment, each planned on 
a higher scale than before. It was estimated that $75,000 
would be needed for these purposes. The citizens of 
Toledo undertook to raise one-third of that sum and the 
College authorities the remainder. 

To raise this vast amount the regular agents of the 
College were stimulated to redoubled efforts and can- 
vassed the territory as vigorously as possible. President 
Mills was relieved from class work for a time that he 
might aid in the canvass, and numerous assistant solicitors 
were called in for longer or shorter periods. L. H. 

197 



Western — Leander-Clark Collegr 

Bufkin was still general agent and treasurer, and naturally 
was most active in all financial plans. H. H. Maynard 
and M. S. Drury were the regular soliciting agents, to 
whom F. H. Brookmiller was added for two years. 

The details of rebuilding and the responsibility for the 
judicious expenditure of the money collected fell to the 
Executive Committee, consisting of President Mills, E. R. 
Smith, W. F. Johnston, E. C. Ebersole, M. S. Drury, and 
B. M. Long, in cooperation with A. M. Beal, T, D. Adams, 
E. B. Kephart, and L. G. Kinne, the entire body consti- 
tuting the Building Committee. Judge L. G. Kinne had 
recently been made a member of the Board, and both as 
a member of that body and of the Building Committee 
he rendered invaluable service because of his sound legal 
judgment and his wise counsel in financial affairs ; he 
continued for many years a genuine and influential friend 
of the College. 

The Board, at its special session, February 18, 1890, 
laid upon the Building Committee the following strenuous 
charge : 

"1. To erect as soon as possible — presumably in time 
for the opening of the next fall term — a college building 
either on the old foundation, or as an independent struct- 
ure or structures as the committee may deem best. 

''2. But said committee shall see to it that no indebted- 
ness is contracted against the corporation, or for which 
the corporation may be liable, in and about the construc- 
tion of said building or buildings, provided that said com- 
mittee may proceed with the erection of said building or 
buildings if in its judgment the funds subscribed there- 
for at the time the contract is let be ample to erect and 
enclose the same, and put it in a condition to be preserved 
from injury by the elements, even though there be not 

198 



Third Crisal Period 

sufficient funds to finish all the interior. But in such 
case no more shall be contracted for than there are funds 
to pay for. 

"3. To put all rebuilding and work connected with re- 
building under contract to a reliable party or parties, and 
under specifications plain and comprehensible with for- 
feitures for failure to perform the contracts." 

The committee decided to utilize the old foundation 
and to erect a single large building as before, but with 
improved outside plans and inside arrangements. The 
contract was let to Mr. W. F. Gruppe, of Toledo, Iowa, 
and he pushed the building with such vigor and effective- 
ness that portions could be used for school purposes in 
the fall. 

It was the avowed intention of the authorities to avoid 
contracting any new debt in rebuilding, yet they were 
indirectly led into it in spite of themselves. The pressing 
need for the new building led to hurrying it on to com- 
pletion the first season. By the time the building was 
enclosed, the notes, pledges, and cash secured amounted to 
about $40,000, less than a third of it being paid in. At 
that time a heavy mortgage was placed on the building 
and campus by assigning the insurance and by offering as 
security the signatures of thirty-six good friends of the 
College. This note, known as the Mary J. Spensley note, 
is the one that some years later, when financial embar- 
rassments were piling upon the College, caused so much 
distress by threatening to bankrupt the men of small 
means who had attached their names to it, thereby becom- 
ing responsible for its payment. The note was reduced 
by partial payments at different times, until there re- 
mained the sum of ten thousand dollars which was not 
paid until January 18, 1910. 

199 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

It is noticeable that every strenuous and successful 
financial campaign through which the College has gone has 
been followed by an awakened interest in the College and 
an increased attendance. The second year after the fire, 
and immediately after the canvass of the territory for 
funds with which to rebuild, the enrollment reached the 
highest num.ber it ever attained. The internal life of 
the school at this period was vigorous and wholesome, but 
destined to decline a few years later. The literary socie- 
ties fitted up and furnished elegant rooms for themselves 
on the third floor of the new building and entered upon 
a period of prosperous activity. The Y. M. C. A. and 
Y. W. C. A. secured a room for their meetings and en- 
joyed a period of much spiritual power and growth under 
the guidance of a few most earnest and capable leaders. 

The faculty at this time contained a number of strong 
men and women. A great loss had been sustained in the 
departure of Professor Loos to take the chair of Political 
Science in the State University of Iowa, and of Miss M. 
Alice Dickson, first incumbent of the chair of Greek in 
Western College, to become the wife of Professor Loos. 
By a strange coincidence the departure of these two oc- 
curred in the early evening of the very night on which the 
destructive fire came, and their going left a touch of 
sadness and depression Upon the spirits of the College 
community that rendered them more susceptible to the 
greater depression the morning brought. 

President Mills soon turned from field work to the 
more congenial duties of the class room. His office gave 
him the chair of Mental and Moral Philosophy, a field for 
which he was peculiarly well fitted both by training and 
by temperament. He was a born logician and thinker, 
and had disciplined himself by profound study of philo- 

200 



Third Crisal Period 

sophical subjects. His magnificent personal appearance, his 
dignified bearing, and judicial utterance gave his opinions 
great weight, though he often failed to reach down to 
where the students daily lived and to realize with quick 
human sympathy the student's matter-of-fact problems 
and daily needs. He won the highest esteem and admira- 
tion of his pupils, but did not quite enlist their sponta- 
neous love and adoration. President Mills recoiled from 
the material problems and endless perplexities inseparably 
connected with the presidency, and so resigned that office 
after three years and gave himself wholly to class-room 
work for one year, at the end of which time he was 
elected Bishop by the General Conference of his Church, 
an exalted office in which he soon took eminent rank, and 
in which he continued until his death, September 16, 1909. 
Professor Beal continued as Professor of Natural 
Science and vice president until 1891 and endeared him- 
self still further to the students. When President Mills 
resigned in 1892, Professor Beal was called back from 
his medical studies to take the presidency of the College, 
which office he held for one year. Professor H. W. 
Ward, already Professor of Latin, was given the Greek 
also on the resignation of Miss Dickson at the end of the 
fall term of 1889; he continued both subjects until the 
general break up in 1893. Professor L. F. John came 
from graduate study at Yale to take the Chair of English 
in Western made vacant by the elevation of Professor 
Mills to the presidency; he remained but one year, and 
then went on to the ministry, a work for which he had 
especially prepared himself. Professor W. S. Reese 
came in 1889 as Professor of Mathematics, and brought 
to the department a tireless industry and great strength. 
He was later transferred to the new Chair of Pedagogy, 

201 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

and also was made vice president of the College. He 
was one of the vigorous influences of his day. Professor 
B. M. Long, already as College Pastor, and member of 
the Executive Committee, so closely identified with 
the interests of the school, became Professor of Eng- 
lish in 1890, and held the position, with one year's 
leave of absence, until 1893. Spotless in personal 
habits, charming in personality, pure and wholesome 
in ideals, a winning teacher, he added much to the 
worth of the College in those days. During the 
year of Professor Long's absence, his place was sup- 
plied by Professor W. T. Jackson, first graduate of 
the College, a man of varied and minute scholarship. He 
brought to the later days not only the early traditions of 
Western, but also something of the spirit of Michigan and 
Yale from his long studies in these universities. Miss 
Josephine Johnson came in 1891, directly from advanced 
study in Berlin, Germany, to be Professor of Modern 
Languages for two years ; she, too, represented the older 
traditions of the College with extended modern training 
and culture added. At the same time came Professor 
E. A. Zumbro, research student in chemistry in the Uni- 
versity of Munich ; he had been earlier in the University 
of Michigan. He was a tower of strength physically 
and mentally. Professor J. M. Eppstein, director of the 
Conservatory of Music, a hustling man of affairs as well 
as a capable music teacher, brought the music department 
up to a high degree of efficiency and prosperity. Idah 
Tracy Eppstein, a dramatic reader of much skill, carried 
the work in Elocution one step nearer its establishment as 
a permanent part of the College. Professor E. F. War- 
ren, so surpassingly successful as Principal of the Com- 
mercial Department, was finally transferred to the col- 

202 



Third Crisal Period 

legiate faculty as Professor of Mathematics, in which 
position he was equally excellent. He was also made 
college treasurer and bookkeeper, and brought his expert 
knowledge of accounts and his orderly grasp of business 
details to the aid of the College's financial records. 

The College has, during all its history, been fortunate 
in securing teachers whose talents and qualifications made 
them worth more than the meager salary offered meas- 
ured. At a few special periods the faculty has been re- 
markable for the excellent natural ability, extended train- 
ing, delightful personality, and sterling character of a 
large part of its members of that time. The period now 
presented is one of that kind. It is to be regretted that 
the College had been too often a kind of training school 
to fit teachers for better positions in other colleges and 
universities. Fortunately some of the best men and most 
successful teachers have remained a reasonably long 
period with the school. 

In a condensed history, such as this, it is impossible to 
present at any length the personnel of the student body 
at any period. A few whose shadows by some lucky 
chance have reached down through time, or whose person- 
alities by like lucky chance have lingered in the historian's 
memory receive personal mention. There was Jerry 
George, older than the average student, serious-minded, 
a power in debate, with a gift of public speech already 
well developed — a foretaste of his later years as lyceum 
speaker. There was Erwin Runkle, keen of intellect, 
quiet of speech, modestly aspiring, good material for the 
eastern university to work upon. There was that famous 
Philo Quartet, Wilbur Little, John Riggs, RoUin Shatto, 
and Will Smith, whose "Dutch Company" always brought 
down the house — a jolly quartette whose overflowing 

203 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

spirits enlivened class room and athletic field. A touch 
of sadness reawakens with the memory of John Riggs — 
athlete, humorist, and royal comrade; memory of the al- 
most fatal ending of an hour's sport with target gun, and 
of the anxious weeks of nursing him back to strength 
again. And Will Schell, hard worker, somewhat grim 
and solemn, with a gift for trenchant composition and 
effective speech. Also Arthur Stratton, deliberate in 
movement and in speech, but kindling at times to genuine 
eloquence and power. Then there was Sam Stouffer, 
spare of build, methodical in habits, minutely accurate in 
scholarship, a persistent champion of any cause to which 
he was attached, especially of his literary society; and 
Frank Stouffer, with his mathematical turn of mind and 
a pair of nimble feet that no one else could overtake — 
and there were famous field meets in those days. And 
there was Wilhs Warren, fair-haired, sunny-eyed, smiling- 
faced, genial and companionable, and withal a good stu- 
dent and a pleasing public speaker. And Howard 
Everett, kind-hearted, impulsive, and possessed of an 
elemental eloquence. And there was Jennie Fearer, 
serious minded and independent, a leader in the Y. W. 
C. A., and an influence for righteousness in the school. 
The image of W. O. Harper returns most persistently in 
his role of leading two class songs, one in his Junior year, 
a bit of good-natured banter directed at the Seniors and 
particularly at the numerous preachers in the class : ''The 
rest of them don't 'mount to much, 'mount to much"; 
the other in his Senior year, a song that became a kind of 
ceremony introducing all class meetings and sung with 
great unction: "There were three crows sat on a tree. 
And they were black as black could be." Charley Brew- 
baker came and went about his work, alert and earnest, 

204 



Third Crisal Period 

somewhat gifted in multiplying words and occasionally 
showing a flashing hint of his later successes. Then there 
were the Keplers, Mai and Dick, ready either for a frolic 
or a serious task — preferably a frolic — irrepressible in 
the parliamentary practice hour of the literary society, 
and foremost in wholesome out-door athletics. But the 
student who, perhaps more than any one else radiated his 
contagious enthusiasm and undying loyalty into the life 
of the school, was I. N. Cain, the big-hearted optimist. 
Due mostly to his influence, the Y. M. C. A. of his day 
reached a degree of efficiency for good and a power for 
spirituality seldom, if ever, equalled in the history of the 
organization. He was the stuff of which to make either a 
benevolent prince or a great-souled martyr. One cannot 
think of him without thinking also of the one who joined 
her life to his and with him suffered martyrdon at the 
hands of those to whom she ministered most tenderly. 
Mary Mutch was ever quiet, modest, true, too earnest to 
be ever very gay, too eager to be ever idle. 

While the internal affairs of the College were unfolding 
satisfactorily in the main, financial matters were grad- 
ually approaching a crisis that, even before it came, began 
to cast depressing influence upon the internal life. In 
spite of all that could be done to hinder it, the rebuilding 
entailed a considerable debt to augment the already appal- 
ling obligations of the College. Rebuilding and contin- 
gent notes were paid in slowly, and at the same time the 
College obligations were falling due almost constantly. 
Often the only way to pay a pressing claim was to borrow 
money from some new source, perhaps enough to cover 
both interest and principal. Then came the depressing 
financial conditions that preceded the ruinous panic of 
1893 and 1894. The general money markets became more 

205 



IV est em — Leander-Clark Collegr 

and more alarmed and drew in their currency. It became 
increasingly difficult for even the soundest business con- 
cerns to find money with which to finance their enter- 
prises. The College soon found itself unable to borrow 
any money from any source, and creditors were becoming 
daily more insistent. The College authorities were 
driven to their wit's end. Salaries of teachers and officers 
were badly in arrears, and payments for current expenses 
had to go by default. A spirit of discontent and hope- 
lessness pervaded the whole school community. The 
climax came at the end of the school year in June, 1893. 
So acute had become the general feeling of depression 
dnd despair that faculty and teachers sent in their resig- 
nations wholesale. Of the regular College faculty every 
professor handed in a formal resignation; Professor 
Reese alone afterward consenting to reconsider and allow 
his name to appear for reelection. Naturally a deep 
gloom settled over the College community. The Board, 
harassed and perplexed before, were now filled with con- 
sternation and dismay. As s^oon as the students realized 
the significance of what was taking place, they, too, shared 
the feeling of dismay; a few boys with a grim sense of 
humor tolled the bell to betoken that the College was dead. 
Other scenes more pleasing to the memory were enacted 
at that time. The close of a college year with its sever- 
ing of friendships and breaking of associations is always 
a time of tenderness. At this particular time teachers 
and pupils felt that the time for inevitable and wholesale 
separation had come, and in consequence the kindlier 
feelings of our better human nature came to the surface 
and found expression in word and deed. More than once 
after the last written examination was finished and the 
pupils had gone, leaving the teacher sitting dejectedly 



Third Crisal Period 

before a stack of examination papers, a class filed back 
into the room, a spokesman at their head to present to 
their teacher a book or picture as a token of esteem, ac- 
companied by words of appreciation too spontaneous, too 
sincere, too frankly tender and generous to bear any other 
use than to be treasured in the heart forever. 

The next two or three years showed the almost inde- 
structibility of an institution such as Western College. 
Individual life would surely have gone out under so great 
stress and strain. The trustees, however, had no inten- 
tion of giving up; they planned for finances by electing 
T. D. Adams general financial manager and L. H. Bufkin 
and George Miller soliciting agents; they cast about for 
some one to take the presidency of the school and others 
to constitute the faculty. 

Realizing the vast importance of the College to the 
Church in the northwest, Bishop Kephart hurried to 
Toledo to give the benefit of his wise counsel, as he had 
done so often before. Bishop Mills was already here and 
helped with his counsel. After some refusals and much 
deliberation a faculty was at last formed. As these 
people bridged a dangerous chasm and kept the school 
alive until others could come to the rescue, they deserve 
special mention in this history. They were : A. P. Funk- 
houser. President and Professor of Philosophy; W. S. 
Reese, Vice President and Professor of Mathematics; 
W. D. Stratton, Professor of Natural Science; A. C. 
Streich, Professor of Ancient Languages ; Belle Schelling, 
Professor of English Literature and History ; Annie Dell 
LeFevre, Professor of Modern Languages; and J. B. 
Chase, Professor of Biblical Literature. The teachers in 
the adjunct departments were: Hattie Williams, Director 
of the Conservatory; Delia Black, Assistant; Theodore 

207 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

Rude, Stringed Instruments; E. W. Logan, Principal of 
the College of Commerce; S. E. Clapp, Instructor in 
Shorthand and Typewriting ; and Flora Wonser, Instruc- 
tor in Painting. 

The crisis that was upon the College reached its climax 
with the close of the school year in June, 1894. In many 
ways the situation was most distressing. Attendance had 
fallen off materially, especially in the four college classes, 
though the total enrollment for the year speaks volumes 
for the loyalty of both students and their parents; the 
temper of the student body, however, was marked by dis- 
couragement and discontent, and but little more was 
needed to produce disintegration. The general finances 
of the country were in a deplorable state; labor strikes 
were wide spread and attended by dire consequences; 
banking houses and business firms had failed by hundreds 
and thousands ; money for any new enterprise was almost 
impossible to obtain. 

Under the circumstances the finances of the College 
were about as bad as they could be. It was impossible 
to make any headway against the old debt, and at the 
same time interest due and excess of expenses over in- 
comes added about eight thousand dollars more during 
the year. Some of the creditors of the College were tak- 
ing their claims to the courts for adjustment. Friends of 
the College who had signed the $25,000 mortgage note, or 
had gone security on other notes, were in danger of being 
forced to pay. The situation that faced the Board at its 
June meeting was not a pleasant one to contemplate. 

When the roll was called at the first meeting, June 11, 
the good men and true who responded to their names 
were: George Miller, representing Des Moines Confer- 
ence ; W. I. Beatty, D. Miller, and L. B. Hix, representing 

208 



Third Crisal Period 

Iowa Conference ; J. H. Richards, representing the Wis- 
consin Conference; J. P. Wilson, representing Colorado 
Conference ; A. M. Beal, R. E. Williams, and T. D. Wil- 
cox, representing the Alumni Association; and S. R. 
Lichtenwalter, trustee-at-large. C. Wendle and D. C. 
Overholser, from Rock River Conference, came in later 
and took their seats. W, H. Withington and H. J. 
Stiger were elected trustees-at-large to fill vacancies in 
that representation, and, being present, took their seats. 
These are the men that had to grapple with the mighty- 
task of saving a sinking cause. In the number will be 
found the names of men who had already borne the brunt- 
of many severe conflicts in behalf of the College, some of 
whom are still mainstays in everything that looks, toward 
the welfare of the school. 

Besides the members of the Board, M. S. Drury, solic- 
iting agent, was present to give his official help and to 
furnish counsel out of his long connection with the Col- 
lege. Dr. E. R. Smith and W. F. Johnston, long members 
of the Executive Committee, were present with their 
intimate knowledge of all the details pertaining to the 
business of the College. Many visitors were present, 
drawn here by their intense interest in the College, most 
of whom assisted the various committees ; among these 
were, Dr. A. W. Drury, John Lichtenwalter, C. A. Ben- 
son, Abraham Lichtenwalter, D. H. Kurtz, I. K. Statton, 
D. W. Proffitt, W. D. Hartsough, and R. L. Hagerty. 

General Financial Agent T. D. Adams had died April 
6, 1894, and his sickness and death had necessarily left 
the business of the College in a somewhat confused con- 
dition. The following item from the report of the Com- 
mittee on Ways and Means shows to what extremity the 
Board was driven : 

209 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

"In view of the confusion in the finances of the College, 
due in part to the death of the financial manager and diffi- 
culties arising from the general financial stringency, we 
kindly ask the sureties on the $25,000 mortgage note and 
the sureties on any other pressing claim to meet the inter- 
est now due and unpaid, such payment to in turn be re- 
paid by the College; W. H. Withington to confer with 
said sureties with reference to said object." 

One cause for encouragement amid the general depres- 
sion was found in the progress already made on the plan 
inaugurated two years before, and known as the 1892 
Fund. The plan proposed was to raise $35,000 with which 
to meet the pressing claims against the College, the donors 
to this fund to receive certificates in Western College in 
proportion to the amount donated, and when the fund was 
completed to organize themselves into a stock company, 
which, through a Board of Directors, should control the 
business of the College. The agents reported that $21,543 
had been pledged toward this amount, and the Board, 
realizing that this was the only ray of hope, resolved to 
push the canvass with all possible vigor. How desper- 
ately in earnest the Board was may be gleaned from the 
following report from a special committee of five ap- 
pointed for the purpose of devising methods of pro- 
cedure. 

''We recommend: 

"1. That the canvass for subscriptions, begun in the 
Board meeting yesterday, be urged forward here and now 
among those in attendance at this commencement occa- 
sion. Money now subscribed in the largest amounts pos- 
sible may determine the success of the movement. 

"2. That Rev. D. Miller, Mrs. Edith Baker, and Rev. 
W. I. Beatty be a central committee to act along with the 

210 



Third Crisal Period 

Executive Committee of the College in directing the 
efforts of others and assisting in making the plan adopted 
by the Board a success. 

"3. That Sabbath schools, Young People's societies, 
and individual congregations be asked to make special 
contributions and take special subscriptions in this time of 
urgent need. 

*H. That Mrs. L. D. Williams, A. M. Beal, and C. R. 
Shatto be a special committee to solicit subscriptions from 
the alumni and former students in general, and enlist their 
effective cooperation. 

"5. That the Executive Committee of the College be 
a special committee to secure subscriptions from the citi- 
zens of Toledo and the friends of the College in neighbor- 
ing places. 

"6. That we request every member of the Board of 
Trustees, every presiding elder, and every pastor in the 
cooperating territory to make himself a committee of one 
to make an unusual effort in securing funds in the present 
emergency; also, that the students be appealed to to aid 
with their enthusiasm and determination in relieving 
Western College from its burdens, and in making it in 
equipment and attendance of students what all so much 
desire. 

"7. That Prof. A. C. Streich, Rev. S. T. Beatty, Miss 
Jennie Fearer, and other suitable persons be especially 
commissioned to act under the direction of the Central 
Committee in securing funds and subscriptions, all ex- 
penses incurred to be paid by the College." 

When it came to securing a faculty for next year, the 
trustees faced another dilemma. It was plain that mat- 
ters could not go on as they had been, and so it was re- 
solved that teachers must be found who would be willing 

211 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

to run the school on its regular incomes supplemented by 
whatever donations might be made for that purpose. 
Only one teacher, Edgar U. Logan, Director of the Col- 
lege of Commerce, was found available at this time, and 
the Board adjourned to meet in special session, July 10, 
1894. 

The situation was serious indeed, but there was evident 
a rising determination to meet the emergency manfully. 
The faint-hearted may quail before great difficulties, but 
brave souls are only stirred to more heroic efforts ; so it 
was now. The better spirit of faith and courage was 
voiced by W. I. Beatty, whose money contributions, 
though magnificent when measured by his ability, did not 
make- a very great amount, but whose services in devotion, 
and solicitude, and love were worth more than any money 
could measure. Falling into measured strains, as he 
does sometimes in moments of high emotional intensity, 
he flung this ringing challenge at the frowning future : 

"Western College Shall Not Die.'' 
Western College is the cry, 
Joyful note, just let it fly, 
As a pean in the sky. 
Western College shall not die. 

Sing, ye patriot workers, sing. 
Make the mighty welkin ring. 
Send through all the land and cry 
Western College shall not die. 

Sing aloud the battle cry, 
Make it reach the very sky, 
By the throne that is on high 
Western College shall not die. 

2iZ 



Chapter XL 

PRESIDENT BOOKWALTER ELECTED, PLAN OF OPERA- 
TION. FACULTY SECURED. FINANCIAL SITUATION. 
INTERNAL GROWTH. DEBT PAYING CAMPAIGN. LEAN- 
DER CLARK's PROPOSITION. 

The inauguration of a movement of momentous import, 
of the turning of the tide in the destiny of an individual, 
or of an institution, often rests upon the intiative of a 
few earnest souls. The conferences of John and Charles 
Wesley and their two companions in a student's room at 
old Oxford University led to the spiritual awakening that 
revolutionized the spirit of Protestantism; the now fam- 
ous haystack prayer meeting by a little band of students 
from Williams College started one of the farthest reach- 
ing forces of modern Christendom, the Student Volunteer 
Movement. A somewhat similar meeting, in Dayton, 
Ohio, in the summer of 1894, held almost as great signifi- 
cance for the destiny of Western College. Three alumni, 
M. R. Drury, A. W. Drury, and Lewis Bookwalter, and 
John Dodds, a royal friend of the College, knowing that 
some one must go to the rescue, met to hold an earnest 
conference over the matter. With a leader who com- 
bined in himself devotion to the College, intensified by a 
profound knowledge of its needs, experience in shaping 
educational policies and practical sagacity of the highest 
order, the College had a chance against odds of ultimately 
succeeding. The task was one to appall the stoutest 
heart ; no one cared to be commissioned to undertake it. 
The more the matter was discussed, the more evident it 
became that one of Western's own sons should answer 

213 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

her call in this, her hour of great need. The question 
went around the little circle, ''Why don't you go? and 
you? and you?" And straightway each began to make 
excuse, esteeming the other a fitter sacrifice than himself. 
Finally the choice fell upon Lewis Bookwalter, and he 
bowed his shoulders to receive the load. 

So it came about that when the Board of Trustees met 
in special session at Toledo, July 10, the Committee on 
Faculty and Nominations reported the name of Rev. 
Lewis Bookv/alter for the presidency, and the nomination 
was unanimously and eagerly ratified by the vote of the 
Board. The choice was a happy one for many reasons. 
From his youth up. Doctor Bookwalter had been nurtured 
in the traditions of the Church, and was in warmest sym- 
pathy with the aspirations of the Church to build up insti- 
tutions of higher learning. His father's family had been 
enlisted in Western College from the founding, and in 
the early days had moved to Western for the double 
purpose of serving the College and of receiving the bene- 
fits it offered. He had imbibed the spirit of the College 
through the intimate experiences of a student, and then, 
upon graduation, became a soliciting agent for his alma 
mater for one year. Then for six more years he was 
more closely identified with the life of the school as 
Professor of Ancient Languages and as College treasurer, 
in which latter position he became familiar with the busi- 
ness affairs of the College. Later he gained valuable 
administrative experience as Principal of Edwards 
Academy and as President of Westfield College; still 
later as pastor of important congregations in Dayton, the 
center of the denomination's activities. 

The choice of Professor E. F. Warren as vice president 
and Professor of Mathematics was equally fortunate. 

214 



President Bookzvalter Elected 

Professor Warren was a man of absolute integrity of 
character, drawn into the teaching profession by pure love 
of the work; consequently his influence over youth was 
most wholesome and stimulating. Furthermore, his thor- 
ough training in the accurate methods of solid modern 
business made his services invaluable in straightening olit 
the involved affairs of the College. 

The plan for operating the school, agreed upon jointly 
by the Board and President Bookwalter, had in it some 
new features. Practically the whole management, exter- 
nal and internal, was turned over to the president and 
vice president. They, with the assistance of a committee 
from the Board of Trustees, were to select the remainder 
of the faculty. They were to run the school strictly on 
its incomes, and when these were not sufficient to pay 
salaries in full the teachers were to receive pro rata until 
the incomes were exhausted and then should have no 
further claim against the College. This provision, 
though severe on the teachers by putting upon them the 
whole risk of a loss, was wise under the circumstances, 
and proved so successful that it was continued until the 
College secured its large permanent endowment. 

The sources of income as outlined in the plan were: 
Tuitions in the College of Liberal Arts and the Academy, 
assessments paid annually by the cooperating confer- 
ences, special funds solicited for this purpose, proceeds 
from the boarding halls, and rent paid in the form of 
commissions by the Conservatory of Music, the College 
of Commerce, and other adjunct departments. With 
these incomes the faculty was to run the school, furnish 
fuel and janitor, and pay themselves without incurring 
any indebtedness for current expenses. This plan left 
the agents of the College and the other officers of the 

215 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

corporation proper free to devote all their attention to th^ 
debt. 

At the July 10 meeting the general financial manager, 
Daniel Miller, serving in that capacity since the death 
of T. D. Adams, was able to report good progress on the 
$35,000 fund. The Board of Trustees then fixed Sep- 
tember 4, 1894, as the date for completing the proposed 
fund, and requested the stockholders under said fund to 
meet in Toledo on September 4, on the same date as the 
adjourned meeting of tlie Board. 

Meanwhile President Bookwalter was busy securing a 
faculty and making preparations for the opening of 
school in September. The plan that was evolving in his 
mind soon came to rest upon two immovable propositions : 
First, the educational standards of the school must be 
raised to the highest rank by employing university-trained 
teachers for the heads of departments and by making the 
pay of teachers the matter of first concern with the man- 
agement ; second, the debt must be stopped from growing 
and then must be systematically reduced by a direct and 
persistent attack in the spirit of Grant's campaign against 
Richmond. As a first step in this program, Arthur Gray 
Leonard, a graduate of Oberlin College, and later a post- 
graduate student of Johns Hopkins University, was se- 
lected as Professor of Natural Science, and Edward L. 
Colebeck, a graduate of Northwestern University and 
graduate student of the University of Chicago, was chosen 
Professor of Ancient Languages; these were men of 
superior scholarship and ability. Annie Dell LeFevre, 
from the faculty of the year previous, was retained as 
Professor of Modern Languages, and W. L Beatty was 
appointed instructor in Biblical History. August Hailing 
was secured as Director of the Conservatory of Music* 

216 



President Bookwalter Elected 

Flora Wonser as instructor in Painting and Drawing, and 
Edgar U. Logan as principal of the College of Commerce. 

When the trustees met September 4, General Agent, D. 
Miller reported that the full amount of the $35,000 fund 
had been pledged, which report was approved "with grate- 
ful rejoicings." By the terms of the pledges the fund was 
to be available for paying pressing claims. Steps were 
taken for pushing the collection of these pledges with all 
possible vigor. 

A committee, appointed to ascertain the present status 
of the debt, found : 

Notes Against the College $67,049.11 

Delinquent Interest 7,181 .66 

Due Sundry Persons 7,023 . 57 

Total $81,254.34 

Against this the College had the recently pledged 
$35,000, from which, however, would be deducted the 
necessary shrinkage on such pledges, the expenses of 
collection, and the interest that would accrue while col- 
lections were being made. At any rate, the situation was 
improving greatly, and all turned their faces toward the 
new school year with a look of expectancy and hope such 
as had not been for years. 

The first year under the new order of things marked a 
great gain in every particular. What the year accom- 
plished and the new spirit of hope those accomplishments 
engendered can be seen from the following editorial cor- 
respondence published in the Religious Telescope, June 
26, 1895 : 

"The eyes of the entire Church have recently been 
turned upon Western College, They should be kept 

. 217 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

there for a time. Not with anxious query as to whether 
it shall go up or down, but rather with zealous inquiry as 
to how it may best be helped in its upward and onward 
course. That it has entered upon such a course, facts 
about its last year's work and its recent commencement 
well attest. May a few such facts hereby presented by 
one who attended this commencement just closed, and 
whose business there made it necessary for him to know 
the true condition of the institution, tend to inspire that 
interest and confidence among its friends and patrons, 
and its ought-to-be friends and patrons which it needs and 
deserves. 

"A clear June morning is a joy almost anywhere in our 
latitude. It is a superb joy in Toledo, Iowa. The credit 
of this must be divided between June and Toledo. June 
furnishes her share in her usual bewitching manner dis- 
played elsewhere; Toledo hers by her charming location 
among and upon a picturesque aggregation of gently- 
undulating hills, by the substantial up-to-date architecture 
of its neat, well-painted residences and public buildings, 
by its well-kept lawns, by its fruitful gardens, by its pro- 
fusion of flowers, by its wild birds singing in its native 
forest trees, and last, but not least, by its classic dignity, 
due to fourteen years' beneficent influence of Western 
College. 

"Such a morning was June 9, when an eager congre- 
gation of more than one thousand completely filled the 
capacious auditorium of the United Brethren Church. 
They came to hear the baccalaureate by President Book- 
waiter. They were not disappointed; Dr. Bookwalter 
does not disappoint. The substance of the sermon was 
that all that is good and enduring in the life of the 
individual or of the state has its source in the life and 

218 



President Bookwalter Elected 

teachings of Jesus. A commendable fraternal spirit was 
shown by the pastors of the other churches, who were 
present and took part in the service, making it a union 
service. A special feature of the exercises was a most 
beautiful solo by Miss Maria Bookwalter, of Minneapolis, 
Minn., whose rendition of both the words and the soul 
of the song one seldom hears excelled. 

"On Sunday evening an earnest, helpful sermon was 
delivered by Rev. E. W. Curtis, of Des Moines, before 
the Y. M. C. A. and Y. W. C. A. of the College. 

On Monday, the tenth, the Board of Trustees met. 
Rev. George Miller, D.D., of Carlisle, Iowa, who has been 
its efficient president for fourteen successive years, and 
who was again reelected, presiding. The Board of Di- 
rectors, elected by the Donors' Association, and given 
supervisory jurisdiction over the general work of the 
Board of Trustees, and authority to propose plans and 
methods as to the financial affairs of the College, met 
for the first time and organized. G. M. Miller, of 
Chicago, was elected president; Hon. W. F. Johnston, of 
Toledo, vice president; and Dr. E. R. Smith, of Toledo, 
secretary. 

"The investigations and deliberations of the two boards 
were harmoniously conducted, and the results gave new 
hope and courage to all the friends of the institution who 
were present. The former showed the internal affairs of 
the College to be in excellent condition. All expenses of 
the year were met by tuition and other sources of income, 
and not a dollar of debt was incurred in the conduct of 
the internal affairs of the College for the year. The plan 
of last year, which gave the president and vice president 
of the College complete control of the internal affairs of 
the institution, all salaries and incidental expenses to be 

219 



Western — Leander-Clark College 



i>' 



met by them from tuition and minor sources of income, 
was highly satisfactory to both the faculty and the boards, 
so that the same plan was adopted for the coming year, 
and the entire faculty was reelected, with the exception 
of Miss LeFevre, of the Chair of Modern Languages, 
who resigned for reasons external to her connection with 
the College. 

"In this connection it should be said that President 
Bookwalter, nobly seconded by Vice President Warren, 
has won the complete confidence of the old friends of the 
College, both at home and abroad, and made many new 
friends for it by his able administration of the past year, 
and every one of the some three hundred students in 
attendance goes out as a missionary to increase the 
attendence for the year to come. This confidence is well 
founded. Doctor Bookwalter is no experiment. The 
Church has known and honored him as one of its best 
ministers and educators for twenty years or more, and 
he has no less honored the Church. No encomiums 
upon him are necessary. The efficient work of Rev. 
W. I. Beatty, D.D., College pastor and instructor in Bible 
studies in the College, has contributed much to the suc- 
cess of the past year. 

"An interesting fact in connection with the boards' 
investigations as to the external affairs of the College is 
the completion during the year, under the management of 
Rev. D. Miller, of a plan to reduce the College debt, 
which resulted in an actual paying oft" of $18,000 of in- 
debtedness, and the providing of $17,000 more of debt- 
paying assets. An interesting fact connected with the 
deliberations of the boards was the probable success of a 
new plan to pay off a debt of v$25,0O0 during the next 
year, a proposition of some wealthy friends of the Col - 

220 



President Bookwalter Elected 

lege, who are standing behind this debt, having been made 
to pay their proportion of it at once, provided the other 
indorsers would do the same. If this is accomplished, 
Sinbad's 'Old Man of the Sea' will no longer ride on the 
shoulders of Western College. Free from this burden, 
there is no reason why it should not rank with the best 
institutions of Iowa, both in attendance and equipment. 

"This reminds me of the honors the Western College 
boys achieved during the year in athletics by defeating 
'on the diamond' the representative ball players of every 
prominent college and university in the State except one. 
Physical development and hygiene are accorded their 
proper place in the institution, and the College gymnasium 
and athletic grounds are well patronized by the students 
of both sexes. 

"On Monday evening the four senior literary societies 
gave their anniversary entertainment, which was a suc- 
cess that would have done credit to any institution of 
learning. Orations were delivered by Philo W. Drury, 
Alice Harrison, E. A. Elliott, and Ethel Bookwalter, 
representing the Philopronean Society, Young Ladies' 
Atheneum, Young Men's Institute, and the Calliopean 
Society, respectively. The literary society esprit de 
corps, which was one of the strong features of the Col- 
lege, which some of us well remember as one of the in- 
spirations of our college days at old Western fifteen or 
twenty years ago, was present in good degree, a new 
phase of it being rather vociferously expressed by the 
young men's societies concluding the ceremony of the 
presentation of the society diplomas by their respective 
society yells. 

"Tuesday evening was devoted to the alumni banquet 
in the Opera House, which, if not a 'feast of reason,' 

221 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

that being subordinate on such an occasion, was a 'flow 
of soul,' as it seemed to be thoroughly enjoyed by all as 
a social affair. 

"President Bookwalter responded in a happy manner to 
the toast, 'Our Alma Mater' one of his best points being 
the displaying of a $1,000 check just received, to be in- 
vested in the College where it would do the most good. 

"G. M. Miller responded to 'The Alumnus and Social 
Problems,' giving a brief outline of the principles under- 
lying social problems, which he expects to present more 
fully before the students of the College some time during 
the coming year in a series of lectures, he having been 
elected to the honorary position of lecturer on sociology. 

"H. M. Rebok, Indian agent at Tama Reservation, and 
editor of the Toledo Democrat, spoke of the influence of 
the so-called smaller colleges that keep near the people, 
comparing it with that of those that cater to and are 
dominated by plutocratic influences. 

"Dr. W. I. Beatty responded to 'Reminiscences,' and 
revived some of the amusing incidents of the 'days of 
auld lang syne' at 'Old Western.' 

"The graduating exercises took place Wednesday, the 
twelfth, at 10 : 30 a.m. It is the principal event of the 
year for Toledo, Tama, and the surrounding country; 
and, as usual, the United Brethren Church was filled to 
overflowing. The graduating class representing the reg- 
ular courses consists of six very promising young men, 
two of whom, Messrs. Slattery and Brooke, are ministers 
of the gospel, and of some considerable experience in 
their calling. 

"J. C. Sanders spoke of 'Music in Our Public Schools' ; 
J. K. Coddington of 'The Unity of Science' ; H. E. Slat- 
tery of 'Success'; F. E. Brooke of 'The Jew in the 

222 



President Bookwalter Elected 

World's Drama' ; S. E. Long of 'Scientific Immortality' ; 
and G. E. Porter of 'Former and Reformer.' The length 
which this article has reached forbids any digest of these 
orations. It is enough to say that they measured up 
among the best of similar efforts in the history of the 
College, and were in matter and manner complimentary 
to the institution which these young men are expected to 
honor by their life-work. 

"C. F. Peterson and Miss Olive Williams were gradu- 
ated in the normal course, and a large class received 
diplomas from the College of Commerce. Revs. C. R. 
Shatto and S. T. Beatty received the degree of A.M. 
Excellent music was furnished throughout by Professor 
August Hailing, director of the Conservatory of Music, 
assisted by accomplished musicians, whose training in the 
Conservatory was a satisfactory index of its success. 

"Taken a a whole, the commencement program was a 
success, and gave good evidence that Western College is 
up to date in spirit, method, and action, and is bound to 
succeed. The speed and degree of this success will de- 
pend much upon many who will read this report. Will 
they be a sufficient success in the line of duty to help now 
to hasten and enlarge the success of Western College?" 

The story of the next seven years is the story of a 
heroic struggle more stupendous and more protracted 
than often falls to the lot of one institution and one set 
of men. As the main struggle had to do with the ex- 
ternal affairs of the College — the battle with the mountain 
of debt — it will be well first to trace that struggle to its 
grand consummation, and then to recount somewhat of 
the internal life during the same period. The brunt of 
that long battle was borne by President Bookwalter, who, 

223 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

through the greater part of the period, was financial man- 
ager of the College, sole field agent and solicitor, and 
superintendent of the internal afifairs of the school. The 
burdens he bore, the sleepless nights he spent, the con- 
stant trying of a courage tenacious as tempered steel, are 
known only to himself and to a few of those nearest to 
him ; yet he would not have succeeded without the stead- 
fast support of such men as Vice President Warren and 
his successor. Vice President McClelland; as the stone- 
wall group of men who composed the Executive Com- 
mittee — E. R. Smith, W. F. Johnston, S. R. Lichten- 
walter, W. H. Withington, J. H. Ross, and Daniel Mc- 
Intyre ; as George Miller, president of the Board, and for 
a short time soliciting agent; as Field agent N. F. Hicks 
for the last three years of the debt campaign; and such 
members of the Board of Trustees as W. I. Beatty, John 
Shambaugh, M. R. Drury, and many others. 

The best idea of the progress of the campaign can be 
gathered from articles written in the heat of the conflict, 
most of them from the pen of President Bookwalter. 

From the Religious Telescope, February 8, 1896: 

''Management of Western College.'' 
"At the special session of the Board of Trustees, held 
March 28, 1895, Rev. D. Miller, the general financial 
manager, reported that the turning of the so-called ' '92 
Fund' into cash and notes had been virtually consum- 
mated. He gave it as his opinion and that of those in the 
immediate management that for a time the College finan- 
ces could be conducted without a salaried financial man- 
ager, and he accordingly resigned his office. The financial 
management was placed in the hands of the president 
and assistant treasurer of the College. 

224 






REV. W. I. BEATTY, D.D. 
LoiiK a Member of the Board of Trustees. 



PROFESSOR E. F. WARREN 
Vice President and Business Manager. 




REV. W. S. REESE, D.D. 
Vice President two years and Member of 
the Faculty four years. 



PROFESSOR B. F. McCLELLAND 

Vice President from 189G to the time of 

his death, December 1900. 





REV. L. H. BUFKIN 

General Financial Agent nine years and 
Soliciting Agent five years more. 



REV. N. F. HICKS 

Field Secretary through the Debt-paying 
Campaign. 




REV. R. E. GRAVES 

Field Secretary through the Endowment 
Campaign. 



REV. O. G. MASON 
Present Field Secretary 



President Bookwalter Elected 

"At the regular meeting of the Board, in June, it was 
decided to continue for a time the same economic policy, 
it being left to the president of the College and Executive 
Committee to determine when a man should be employed 
to take charge of the finances. It was thought by the 
committee that during the summer and early fall it would 
not be wise to enter upon new and aggressive plans for 
raising funds. So, since last March, Professor Warren 
and I, in consultation with the Executive Committee, have 
been handling the financial interests of the College. I 
may say that it seems to be the judgment of the Execu- 
tive Committee and other officers that the finances have 
been managed successfully. 

"But the time has now come when the best interests of 
the College call for a man to give himself to the financial 
work. For some time we have been looking and praying 
for the right man. I trust that in what has just been 
done in filling this important place, both the committee 
in calling and the brother in responding have been 
divinely led. On yesterday, January 23, the Executive 
Committee and Rev. George Miller, D.D., of Carlisle, 
Iowa, consummated the plan by which he is engaged to 
lead in the financial work. He is for the present 
employed to work under the direction of the Executive 
Committee up to the time of the meeting of the Board of 
Trustees in June. Until that time, at the request of the 
pastors of his district whom he called together in council, 
he retains his present relation to the district, the work 
there to be conducted by supply under his direction. 

"Doctor Miller has been called and employed as presi- 
dent of the Board of Trustees to lead in this time of 
urgent need in plans and eflforts to relieve the College of 
its load of debt. He and the president of the College are 

225 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

expected to join in this task. Plans are laid for moving 
immediately in the work of securing donations for the 
liquidation of the debt. Brother Miller will enter at 
once upon his work. 

''The College authorities feel free to congratulate the 
friends and patrons of the College, in whose behalf they 
have acted, that so able a man as Mr. Miller has been 
secured. Dr. Miller is a man of large experience and rec- 
ognized ability as a manager and leader in church affairs. 
He has been president of the Board of Trustees of the 
College for sixteen years. He needs no introduction to 
our people. His coming to this place at this time will 
increase confidence and add to the inspiration of all the 
friends of Western College. 

"But let all bear in mind the burdens and responsibilities 
which, in responding to this call. Brother Miller assumes. 
Well may he have hesitated, and thought, and asked di- 
vine guidance before undertaking this Herculean task. 
The managing and liquidating of a debt of $63,000 is the 
work in hand. To succeed, Doctor Miller must have the 
hearty and liberal cooperation of all. Especially must 
our men of means respond in large sums to his appeals. 
It is believed that this they will do. Let the financial 
needs of Western College be in the thought and prayer 
of all its friends; and in this time of its steady and 
hopeful advancement let all be inspired to join in promot- 
ing its highest welfare. 

"L. BOOKWALTER." 

Religious Telescope, October 13, 1897: 

"a noble, heroic effort. 
"Western College has rolled up its sleeves and gone to 
work, resolved to wipe out the last dollar of its indebted- 

226 



President Bookwalter Elected 

ness. The purpose is as noble as the undertaking is great 
and important. The College has buildings, grounds, and 
equipment worth several times the amount of its indebt- 
edness. Then, too, it is manned by a thoroughly wide- 
awake faculty, and its halls are well filled with as promis- 
ing a set of students as grace the halls of any institution 
in any State. 

"All these things conspire to encourage the friends of 
Christian education to rally right royally and liberally to 
the great work of lifting the debt. It can be, it must be, 
it will be done. Read President Bookwalter's article on 
page 15 of this week's issue. The plan he outlines is well 
matured, feasible, practical, and his whole soul is in the 
work. Let all who can lift a pound or give a dollar 
throughout the cooperating territory rally in response 
to his bugle call, and the work will soon be done. 

"western college LIQUIDATION OF DEBT. 

"First, let it be remembered that for three years the 
College has been run upon a plan that has prevented any 
increase of its debt by its mere running. Its income, sup- 
plemented by the conference assessments and temporary 
endowment, has met the running expenses. Here it should 
be said that the adding of another member to the faculty, 
made necessary by the internal growth, will make neces- 
sary also an increase in the temporary endowment gifts 
by friends and in the receipts from conference assess- 
ments. Taken all together, the internal condition is 
healthy, vigorous, and assuring. 

"But the matter to which I wish to call the special 
attention of the friends of Western College is the present 
status of the debt and the plan for its liquidation. 

227 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

"debt statement. 
"The total debt of the College, in round numbers, is 
$65,000. This sum will cover every dollar of its present 
liabilities, including unpaid interest. This debt is draw- 
ing seven per cent, interest. To offset this the College 
has contingent assets, good paper, to the amount of 
$20,000. This makes us a net debt unprovided for of 
$45,000. But those who know something of how debts 
at seven per cent, interest grow, and how even good 
college assets are liable to shrink, will feel that to provide 
fully for this debt we should raise $50,000. 

"plan for providing for it. 
"It will be remembered that aside from a few weeks' 
soliciting done eighteen months ago by Dr. George Miller, 
president of the Board, and myself, no field work has been 
done for more than three years. At the meeting of the 
Board of Trustees, in June last, it was decided to enter 
again upon the work of liquidating the debt; and it was 
the action of the Board that I be relieved from teaching 
for the year that I might give my time more fully to the 
financial interests. So the summer campaign for stu- 
dents being over, I am now entering expressly upon the 
financial work. The plan is : 

. "That I shall have the cooperation of presiding elders, 
pastors, and certain laymen in making the canvass for 
money ; that the canvass shall be chiefly among the friends 
of means, but among others also; that we shall aim to 
secure, if possible, ten $1,000 donations, twenty, $500 
donations, and one hundred $100 donations, which, all 
together, will knock the center out of this debt; that 
further we shall aim to secure a number of gifts from 
$2,000 to $5,000, as well as many donations of $200 and 

228 



President Bookwalter Elected 

$300, and of $50 upward; that these gifts shall be in 
cash, or notes at seven per cent, interest, made payable 
at such reasonable time and in such payments as may suit 
the donors. 

"Such, in short, is the situation, and such the plan of 
work ; and upon the work we have already entered. We 
have made a start. The first donor was our esteemed 
Bishop N. Castle. He was the first of the $100 donors. 
Church Erection Secretary W. M. Weekley, a Rock 
River man and former trustee, is second on this Hst. A 
young brother, a layman in Rock River Conference, 
starts the $500 list. Following the brethren mentioned 
on the $10 list are nine other men and women — presiding 
elders, pastors, laymen, and others. The results reached 
in the first ten days are surely encouraging. And so, 
friends of Western College, we have entered together 
upon this work. A task, a great task, it is, but we are 
able for its full accomplishment. And its accomplish- 
ment is the will of God and our sacred duty. How soon 
this will be reached I cannot say. We set no time, but 
we do set the goal — the full liquidation of this college 
debt. 

"For this end, so vital to our Church in the central 
northwest, let all our people pray, and talk, and give. 

"L. Bookwalter." 

Religions Telescope, November 3, 1897 : 

"western college — ITS DEBT MUST BE MET NOW. 

" 'To everything there is a season, and a time to every 
purpose under the heaven,' so says the inspired wise man. 

"Whether, in the sense of this proverb, there is a 'time 
to go in debt,' I do not assume to say. This I do know, 
that time or no time most people go in debt. I suppose 

229 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

ail will agree that there is a 'time to get out of debt' if one 
possibly can. 

''Whether there is a time for a college to go in debt 
need not here be discussed — most colleges unfortunately 
have done so — but the one conviction to which the friends 
of Western College seem now to be unanimously coming, 
is that whatever may be thought or said as to its having 
been run in debt, the time is here when it must and it shall 
be lifted out. 

"Let us notice why the manager and friends now so 
feel. First, there has been no general effort made against 
the debt for over three years, the canvass for the ' '92 
Fund' having been completed September 4, 1894. It 
was necessary to give the territory rest after that so 
general and hard a lift ; but the rest has been taken, and 
the time for action is now here. Uneasy and anxious 
under existing conditions, the friends of the College 
would interpret further inaction as a grave and perilous 
mistake. Everywhere it is felt that we must again be 
moving upon the debt. 

"Again, the general financial condition of the country 
is improving, slowly, but it is thought surely. During 
the past two years the state of commercial affairs has been 
such that no one could successfully conduct a canvass for 
money for a college debt. But with the turn in the tide of 
business the thought of the people has turned towards the 
needs of their college, and they are again as ready as they 
are again able to come to its relief. The times are auspi- 
cious, and we shall, with gratitude to the Dispenser of 
events, without delay embrace our opportunity. 

And further, the doubts and fears which a few years 
age were entertained as to the final success of the College 
have now given way — given place to faith and courage. 

239 



President Bookzvalter Elected 

The vigorous internal life which the College has taken on, 
the fine growth in numbers and advancement in general 
standing which it has made, and the successful running of 
the school upon a financial basis by which no additional 
debt is incurred, these facts have naturally inspired a con- 
fidence and awakened an enthusiasm which has prepared 
all to enter heartily and liberally into the financial move- 
ment now proposed. 

"And finally, it is known and felt by all that the one all- 
embracing matter with Western College is the early pay- 
ment of its debt. This is the one thing vital. Other 
things are important, as sustaining a strong faculty and 
running the school economically, but to pay the debt is a 
necessity. Around the lifting of this $65,000 debt every- 
thing, in the last analysis, centers. The people very well 
know this, and the management fully realizes it. In the 
work of saving and building up this College we are now 
face to face with the real issue — we are come to the final, 
determining effort. All that has been accomplished dur- 
ing these past three years has been but preparatory to 
what is yet and now to be done, and is a success only as 
it is followed up and crowned with the wiping out of the 
debt. And so, I repeat, we are all resolved upon this 
present financial effort, because upon its success definitely 
depends the very life of the College. 

'Thus do many and strong reasons unite in pointingjto 
the present as God's time and our time to achieve the final 
relief and sure success of this Christian College. 

"It will interest all to know that the list of donors is 
steadily growing. It may be proper and helpful to begin 
soon the publication of gifts. 

"L. BOOKWALTER." 

231 



Western — Leander-Clark Colleger 

From the Watchword, August 16, 1899: 
j 

"improvements at western college. 

"At the meeting of the Board of Trustees of Western 
College, June, 1899, many improvements in the buildings 
were planned and authorized. These improvements at 
this time are nearly completed. 

"Drury Hall, where room and board is furnished for 
young men, has been papered or calcimined throughout; 
the rooms which students occupy are recarpeted. New 
walks have been made, and the house has been repaired. 
Under the management of Mr. and Mrs. Drake, Drury 
Hall promises to be a popular home for students. 

"By reason of the kindness of a very dear friend of 
Western, a much-needed bathroom, and all pertaining to 
it, has been placed in Beatty Hall. Rooms are to have 
new paper and new carpet ; the porches are to be painted ; 
other improvements are in mind. Beatty Hall is a most 
attractive home for young ladies, and will increase in 
popularity. The club system, so successfully operated 
last year, will be continued. 

"The Conservatory of Music will present a more beau- 
tiful appearance because of paint and paper. 

In the last four years seven rooms in the College build- 
ing, including the society halls, which are most hand- 
somely decorated, have been frescoed without expense to 
the College treasurer. The Board of Trustees, in keeping 
with this spirit of progress, ordered the frescoing of all 
the rooms in the College building. All the members of 
the faculty very cheerfully agreed to bear a part of the 
expense of ornamenting their respective recitation rooms. 
When this work is done, few colleges anywhere will pre- 
sent a neater or prettier appearance than Western. These 

232 



President Bookwalter Electea 

beautiful rooms will prove a constant inspiration to both 
students and teachers, and I am sure that our visiting 
friends will take great pleasure and pride in our pro- 
gressive spirit and handsome surroundings. 

''Other necessary improvements have been made in 
buildings and grounds. 

''Western College is now more than ever an attractive 
and enticing spot to all students and friends, who, at all 
times, are very welcome to its halls. 

"One of the greatest needs of the College now is stu- 
dents, and just here is made another appeal to all our 
ministers and to all other friends to make earnest efforts 
for the success of Western College to fill its halls with 
students. Let us have your assistance in securing two 
hundred students for the opening, September 13, 1899. 
Stand by Western with the well-grounded hope that your 
school will be heard from through the young people you 
send us. Accept our gratitude for past favors in the ex- 
pectation of larger and richer ones. 

"B. F. McClelland." 

"western college ITS NEW LIFE. 

"To one intimately associated with Western College 
for the last few years there has been apparent the grad- 
ual unfolding of a new life, which has now become very 
real and very potent. 

"Colleges, like individuals, have personality and life 
story, uneventful periods and epoch-making periods. 
The story of the last ten years includes an epoch-making 
period in the history of Western College. 

"First, a period of general inflation in the business 
world with consequent 'easy times' — easy to contract 
debts — and a 'boom' period for the College, resulting 

233 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

from its recent relocation and the general business 
prosperity. 

"Great things were in prospect. The College was mak- 
ing a 'record,' and in consequence expenses were incurred 
beyond incomes, trusting to the delusive future for pay- 
ment. Then came the destructive fire, which, despite the 
heroic response of Toledo and outside friends, added 
greatly to the already oppressive debt, and soon the 
authorities were being driven to their wits' end in tiding 
over various emergencies. In this state of affairs came the 
great financial crisis in the business world, the inability 
of the College to meet its obligations, a falling behind in 
teachers' salaries, internal friction, and a wholesale resig- 
nation of faculty and instructors, necessitating a complete 
reorganization. The first year was little more than a 
temporary expedient to bridge a chasm,. Then plans 
promising more permancy were devised, and a consistent 
internal policy was adopted. But the financial stringency 
was still at its worst, friends had become discouraged, 
and some completely alienated, and within was disorgan- 
ization. The task of resurrection seemed all but hope- 
less, yet a wise policy, conscientiously and steadfastly 
carried .out, is accomplishing the seemingly impossible. 

"This policy consists of two essential principles: (1) 
The current expenses of the College must not exceed the 
current income. This principle excludes additions to 
the debt except from its own accruing interest. (2) 
The educational standards of the College must be main- 
tained at the highest possible point consistent with exist- 
ing conditions. When necessary in carrying out this 
principle, wide range of subjects taught is sacrificed to 
excellence in the subjects attempted, and the prompt 
payment of teachers is made the first duty of the treas- 

234 



President Bookwalter Elected 

iiry in order to secure and hold teachers of superior 
ability and training. What this policy has accomplished 
is best appreciated by those who have watched its work- 
ings most carefully. 

''It is safe to say that never has there been manifested 
a greater confidence in the financial integrity of the Col- 
lege, and surely there never have been more people willing 
to lend assistance. It is equally safe to say that the 
educational standards have never been higher, and surely 
there never has been more complete internal harmony, 
and perhaps never such a close sympathy between teach- 
ers and students. Even traditional college tricks are 
most conspicuous by their absence. In fact, the spirit 
of petty annoyance, often found among college students, 
would be so abnormal under present conditions that it 
most perforce soon die in consequence of uncongenial 
climatic conditions. 

"The return of general prosperity makes this the time 
for the friends of the College to rally to its support. 

"The financial results of the past year have been most 
gratifying, even beyond our expectations. The treas- 
urer's report last June showed that the debt was actually 
reduced more than $14,000. It should be explained that 
nearly half of that came from the final settlement of a 
long contested legacy, but even then the showing is a 
good one. Since June some $6,000 more has been can- 
celled, largely through the generosity of one man. Thus 
the great load is moving. Let our good friends keep it 
going. 

"Much of the credit for what has been accomplished 
is due to the firm determination and ceaseless efforts of 
President Bookwalter. With a scrupulous sense of the 
sanctity of financial obligations, he has succeeded in win- 

235 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

ning for the College the respect and confidence of all 
with whom he has dealings. He also possesses the rare 
faculty of smoothing ruffled feelings, and of soliciting 
people for money, and yet leaving behind a kindly feeling 
which invites a second call. The College is fortunate in 
having such a man at its head just now. 

''H. W. Ward." 

Finally, at the opening of the year 1900, the conviction 
grew upon those having the work in charge that the time 
had come to make one supreme effort to cast off the whole 
burden of debt. Accordingly a time limit was set and a 
plan was formulated for raising within the limit fixed 
the whole amount yet needed. Computing the interest 
that would accrue in the two years and estimating ex- 
penses of the canvass, it was found that $50,000 of new 
funds must be secured in order to clear all indebtedness. 
The plan devised therefore proposed to secure in cash or 
good obligations the sum of fifty thousand dollars, the 
whole amount to be secured and duly reported on or 
before January 1, 1902. A committee, consisting of the 
President of the College and the cashiers of the First 
National Bank of Tama, the Toledo Savings Bank, and 
the Toledo State Bank, was to examine the notes and 
pledges and determine whether the whole amount had 
been secured. The plan of a united assault upon the 
remaining debt appealed to all the friends of the College, 
particularly as yearly interest went far toward consuming 
the results of a more deliberate canvass. Furthermore, 
the finances of the country were again in a prosperous 
condition and everything invited to the great undertaking. 

By the time plans were fully matured and arrangements 
made for organizing the canvass, the first of April, 1900, 

236 



President Bookwalter Elected 

had arrived. President Bookwalter had, for a long time, 
been alone in the field. Now N. F. Hicks was selected 
as his lieutenant and given the title of field agent or 
secretary. Together they mapped out the field and pro- 
ceeded to push the canvass into all quarters of the 
cooperating territory. 

With what encouragement the work began is indicated 
by the following letter to the Telescope six months after 
the campaign was started : 

"western college — THE OUTLOOK. 

"The fall conferences of the cooperating territory have 
all had their annual sessions, the Iowa Conference having 
met in March. It has always been a great pleasure and 
an inspiration to meet with these bodies representing our 
Church in the central northwest. This year the general 
interest and spirit seemed to me to be unusually fine, 
while the spirit of progress, as shown in the reports of 
presiding elders and pastors and in the plans for the 
future, was especially apparent. 

"The increased interest manifested everywhere in higher 
education and in our own institution of learning was very 
marked, and is most gratifying. One evidence of this is 
the fine increase in the total of College Faculty Fund 
reported by the pastors of the various conferences. The 
number of charges reporting this fund full was double 
that so reporting any previous year. This also means the 
sending of a largely increased number of student repre- 
sentatives on the one term's free tuition privilege. 

"The new plan for the final liquidation of the debt was 
enthusiastically endorsed by all these conferences, the 
Iowa Conference having given it, in the latter part of 

237 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

March, its hearty endorsement, at the time of the launch- 
ing of the scheme. A pubUc appeal for offerings for the 
debt fund was made at each of the late conferences, 
resulting in gifts in cash and notes aggregating as follows : 
Rock River, $810; Des Moines, $1,580; Minnesota, $606; 
Wisconsin, $424, the whole aggregating $3,420. This is 
the kind of endorsement that counts. This generous and 
substantial support of the movement of our Church lead- 
ers, both lay and clerical, gives to it multiplied influence 
and strength among our people everywhere. The fact is, 
as these six months of its presentation to the people 
show, the proposition that all now lift together and lift 
out, makes its own appeal, and the plan to secure the 
$50,000 by January 1, 1902, with which to provide for the 
full liquidation of the debt, is surely destined to succeed. 
But it will need to be supported liberally by all the friends 
of the College and pushed with vigor everywhere. The 
task is a herculean one, and will be accomplished only by 
a united and supreme effort by the friends of the institu- 
tion. The present is full of assurance. We are making 
steady progress. The $20,000 mark has been passed, and 
we are pushing on toward the midway point on the road 
to the goal. 

"There is also everywhere a growing purpose to send a 
larger number of our young people to the College. This 
is the result both of an increased interest in higher educa- 
tion and of a more loyal devotion to our Church and 
school. The ministry and laity are alike moved with this 
good purpose. The results are seen in the steadily in- 
creasing attendance. No recent year has opened with so 
large a number of students as has this. The present net 
total enrollment is 223. We are thoroughly organized in 
every department, and the work is fully under way. The 

238 



President Bookwalter Elected 

internal life is vigorous and the interest fine. There is 
every promise for a year of unusual success. 

"The advance internally and the advance financially 
being made by the College are mutually helpful. The 
conditions are full of promise. This is our time for 
vigorous action; our time to join hands in the task before 
us; our time to strike off our shackles and move for- 
ward. Our College is enjoying in an unusual measure 
the hearty good will of men and the gracious favor of 
God. This, I repeat, this for Western College is the day 
of opportunity. 

"Toledo, Iowa. L. Bookwalter." 

The following, from a local paper, under date of 
December 13, 1900, shows how the internal life of the 
school was expanding as well as how the debt campaign 
was progressing: 

"western college. 
"The present term, closing on the eighteenth, has been 
the best the College has had for years. The enrollment is 
twenty-five per cent, in advance of that a year ago. There 
has been a fine gain in all departments. The interest 
has been excellent, and both faculty and students close 
the work of the term with unusual satisfaction. One 
noticeable feature of the attendance is the fine increase in 
the number of young people who are from the homes of 
our own county. They come from country, town, and 
city and represent the most substantial class of our citi^ 
zens. This home support is very gratifying to all friends 
of the College. It shall be the constant aim of the man- 
agement to make of Western College an institution that 
shall be the just pride of the community and of this 
section of the State. 

239 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

"There is every promise of a largely increased attend- 
ance the coming term, which begins January 2. 

"There will be an unusually large number of new stu- 
dents coming largely, as is always the case in the winter, 
from village and country. The subjects taught will cover 
a large range — from the common branches on up through 
all the grades of the regular preparatory and collegiate 
work. The adjunct departments of Music, Elocution, 
Commerce, and Art will offer superior advantages. The 
expenses of the student at Western College are known to 
be very moderate, unusually low considering the high- 
grade facilities. 

"All friends of the College will be glad to know that 
the plan set on foot last April, for securing $50,000 by 
January 1, 1902, with which to pravide for the liquidation 
of the entire debt of the College, is meeting with assured 
success. Obligations have already been secured aggre- 
gating $22,000. A year yet remains in which to provide 
for the large sum yet needed to consummate the plan 
Vigorous work by the managers of the College and gen- 
erous giving by all its friends will see this vital and much 
watched for end achieved. The generous response by 
those who have already been called upon is most heartily 
appreciated. 

"The present outlook for Western College as viewed 
from all standpoints is full of promise. 

"L. BooKWALTER, President/' 

At the meeting of the Board, in June, 1901, a casting 
up of accounts showed nearly half the entire amount yet 
to raise and only six months in which to raise it. The 
road to the mountain top was still long and steep, but this 
was no time for stout men to falter or grow faint-hearted. 

240 




A. H. DOLPH 
A generous supporter of the College 



J. K. HOBAUGH 

Who laid the foundation for a Perma- 
nent Endowment. 




JENNIE McINTYRE FLETCHER 
Of the Fletcher Chair of English founded 
by her parents, Mr. and Mrs. D. Mclntyre. 



JACOB GUTSHALL 

Who continued his gifts to the College 
after he was ninety years old. 




ADAM SHAMBAUGH 
Of the Shambaugh Chair of Chemistry. 



S. R. LICHTENWALTER 
Long a member of the Board and of the 
Executive Committee. 




HON. JOHN SHAMBAUGH 
Of the Shambaugh Chair of Chemistry. 



HON. H. J. STIGER 
Endowment Secretary. 



President Bookwalter Elected 

Conscious of the great task before them, the authorities 
of the College girded themselves for a climb such as 
might be the talk of a lifetime. How they went about 
their work may be gathered from the following short 
letter to the Telescope written soon after commencement : 

"western college FINANCIAL CAMPAIGN. 

"As stated in Doctor Drury's report of commencement 
week, the pushing of the scheme to raise the full $50,000 
for liquidation of debt by January 1, next, was the one 
absorbing thought of all. The securing of the $24,000 
yet needed was the chief end planned for by the Board 
of Trustees, both as a body and as individuals. It was 
determined to place a number of our strongest men in 
the field to assist in the canvass. By the voluntary offer 
of their services on the part of a number of our leading 
pastors, we are able to announce a strong force soon to 
enter the field. Among these are Rev. M. R. Drury, of 
Toledo; Rev. W. I. Beatty, of Lisbon; Rev. L. B. Hix, 
of Muscatine; and Rev. F. E. Brooke, of Cedar Rapids. 
Also, Rev. R. L. Purdy, of Corning, will join in the work. 
Two laymen, Mr. Adam Shambaugh, of Booneville, and 
Mr. S, R. Lichtenwalter, of Toledo, also told us to call 
upon them for any assistance they could render. Since 
the meeting of the Board, I have secured the services of 
Rev. L. L. Thayer, of Edgerton, Wis., to canvass his own 
conference territory. These brethren, with Rev. N. F. 
Hicks, regular field agent, and myself, will push the can- 
vass with all possible vigor. But we will be only leaders in 
the work, for there must be, and there will be the hearty 
cooperation of all the presiding elders of the territory. 
Presiding elders Rev. George Miller, Rev. N. F. Cronk, 
and Rev. V. A. Carlton, who were present at the meeting 

241 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

of the Board, pledged every assistance they could give, and 
some of them already have appointments made with Rev. 
N. F. Hicks to join him on their districts. Other presid- 
ing elders stand ready to do the same. The plain fact is, 
we have upon us a task such as it will require a united 
effort on the part of all interested to accomplish. But 
earnest canvassing must be met by liberal giving. Every 
man and woman who has not yet given toward this final 
lift must do so ; and it is evident also that some who have 
already made donations must double them. Every friend 
of the College must do his best, for nothing less than such 
responding will see us surely to the goal. All see plainly 
what is involved in this effort — this is the day of crisis 
and of hope. 

"L. BOOKWALTER." 

In the issue of August 7, 1901, appeared the following: 

"western college. 
"In the movement for securing funds for the final 
liquidation of the debt we have now reached the $30,000 
mark. Let all thank God and take courage. True, not 
quite five months remain in which to provide the $20,000 
yet needed to carry the scheme to successful issue; but 
no effort will be spared on the part of the management 
to reach the goal. There are five of us now in the field, 
and others will enter soon. Meanwhile, work is being 
done by correspondence. It is the purpose to push the 
canvass with all possible vigor, and see quite all our 
territory in good time. We mean to run no risks; we 
dare not trust to uncertainties. Everything is at stake, 
and if our people are as earnest and liberal in responding 
as the College, through its representatives, is active and 
urgent in bringing to them this vital claim, there need be 

242 



President Bookzvalter Elected 

no fear as to the result. Let all interested watch the 
progress of this final effort. Let our pastors publicly call 
attention to it in remark and in prayer; and let all our 
people in the cooperating territory bestow prayer, and 
thought, and their full part in means toward the sure 
accomplishment of this great work. 

"The unusual efforts being made in behalf of the finan- 
cial relief of the College are proving also an efficient 
means of calling the attention of our young people to the 
subject of higher education, and turning them to their 
own school. The fine gain in attendance last year was, in 
large part, the result of the activity of representatives of 
the College. Also our pastors and presiding elders have, 
during recent years, been giving more attention to the 
intellectual advancement of their people. There is room, 
and there is a great, urgent call for further awakening, 
educationally, among our people. Let the canvass for 
students be now pushed by everybody. There should be 
a steady, solid growth in our attendance from year to 
year. We made a gain last year of twenty-two per cent., 
reaching a net total enrollment of 340. We have set our 
mark for the coming year at 400. Faithfulness on the 
part of parents to their children, and faithfulness on the 
part of young people to their opportunities, with faithful- 
ness on the part of pastors to all classes of their people, 
will send to these halls of Christian learning many more 
students than the number I have named. 

"L. BOOKWALTER." 

As the time remaining in which to complete the canvass 
became first weeks and then days, effort became strenuous 
and anxiety intense. President Bookwalter and Field 
Secretary Hicks knew no rest; if they slept at all, they 

243 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

slept on their arms ready to renew the fight with the first 
signs of dawn. At the same time assistant solicitors, 
some ofiicially appointed and some volunteers, gave valu- 
able aid; F. E. Brooke in Illinois and M. R. Drury in 
Iowa were especially helpful in this canvass. 

Finally, when the outside territory had all been can- 
vassed, President Bookwalter and Field Secretary Hicks 
returned home. The committee of bankers designated 
at the beginning of the canvass counted the notes and 
cash and found them a little more than eight thousand 
dollars short of the required v$50,000, and only two weeks 
left in which to secure it. A mass meeting of citizens 
was called, the facts were stated, and an energetic home 
canvass was begun, participated in by pastors, business 
men, and other volunteers — this, too, after Toledo had 
already contributed heavily toward the debt fund. Even 
the children caught the spirit of the hour and organized 
among themselves a Dollar Relief Corps. The following 
account, published in a local paper just after the campaign 
closed, will give some hint of the joy and inspiration this 
children's brigade brought to the cause, especially to 
President Bookwalter: 

"the chii^dern's relief corps. 
"One of the pleasing incidents in connection with the 
late effort to raise the debt of Western College was the 
part taken in it by the boys and girls of the town. They 
made their gift on Christmas morning, going to the home 
of President Bookwalter, where they completely surprised 
him. The speaker for the happy company was Miss 
Sadie Markee, who, in a very pleasant way, told the 
president the object of their coming, whereupon they 
proceeded to deposit their dollars, one each, into his 

244 



President Bookwalter Elected 

hands. They were, of course, received gladly, and after 
a few words of thanks and commendation by President 
Bookwalter, the children retired, happy in the thought that 
they had helped in raising the $50,000 fund for our Col- 
lege. Following is a list of the names of those who par- 
ticipated in this good work : 

"Zay Cannon, Frank Harlan, Frank Dragoun, Charles 
L. Benesh, Eula Lichty, Mollie Pierce, Pauline New- 
comer, Will Fee, James E. Shope, Mabel Westfall, 
Gazelle Fitzgerald, Ethel Jackson, Vada Borland, Gilbert 
Hicks, Alice Blanche Carder, Margaret Ferris, Harold 
Ingham, Grace Youngman, Helen A. Johnson, Marion 
Reamer, Irene Lamb, Sadie Markee, Lucille Baldwin, 
Katie Reed, Esther Rebok, Geneve Baker, Ray B. Salz- 
man, Roy Romine, Leda Carlton, Johnnie Bufkin, Glen 
Muckler, Walter Dobson, Neil Gallagher, Charlie Dra- 
goun, Laurence F. Benesh, Myrtle Wagoner, Mildred 
Pierce, Mamie Strawhacker, Anson Cronk, Myrsina E. 
Shope, Hugh Westfall, Leonard Sears, Georgietta Dole- 
zal, Donald Malin, Byron Hicks, Everet Harrison, Edna 
Mathews, Ray Ingham, Wanda Dobson, Eva E. Johnson, 
Scott Jones, Ronald Reamer, Newell Spayth, Max Ward, 
Maud Baldwin, Helen Stockton, Ruth Rebok, Erma 
Baker, Nina G. Salzman, Mamie Romine, Warren 
Thoman, Ross Grau, Verna Cannon, James Bates. 

"At the Jubilee meeting, Thursday evening of last week, 
a large section of seats were reserved for this Dollar 
Relief Corps. They joined heartily in the demonstrations 
of rejoicing over the freeing of the College from debt. 
They will be friends of the school in the years to come. 
Some of them, no doubt, will be members of graduating 
classes along from 1910 to 1915." 

245 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

The closing hours of the exciting campaign may well be 
presented by a clipping from the report of M. R. Drury, 
published in the Religious Telescope of January 8, 1902 : 

"When the evening of December 30 arrived, a number 
of friends of the College, including leading citizens, met 
in the new Hotel Toledo to hear the result of the canvass 
to that date. President Bookwalter made a brief state- 
ment, closing with the report of his committee that they 
had examined all the notes and counted the cash received, 
and that they found there was still lacking but the sum of 
$831. This amount was quickly pledged with a consid- 
erable surplus. To this was added hundreds of dollars 
the next day, December 31, the last day for the completion 
of the debt fund, coming from near and far. Thus the 
hotel meeting closed amid great enthusiasm and rejoicing. 
As the full consciousness of the results achieved came on, 
there were tears of joy and 'thank God' for victory. 

"Soon the College bell and the bells of the city churches 
were ringing out the glad announcement that the full 
amount needed to cancel the long-standing and burden- 
some debt of Western College was at last provided. The 
next morning a young lad, beginning his day's work saw- 
ing wood, inquired of the writer, 'What was them bells 
ringing for last night?' When told it was because the 
College debt was paid, he simply said, 'Oh, I wondered.' 

"Well, many people, even those engaged in the battle 
effort, will wonder and rejoice over the splendid achieve- 
ment now happily realized. How this result was accom- 
plished has already been stated. However, a further 
summary may not be out of place. There was 

"1. A simple and wise plan of procedure which com- 
mended itself to the business and Christian judgment of 
the friends of the College. 

246 



President Bookwalter Elected 

"2. The plan had back of it competent and trusted 
leadership, without which cooperation and success would 
have been impossible. This leadership was hopeful from 
the beginning, and was persevering in labors and unflag- 
ging in zeal, and had but one goal in view, and that was 
ultimate success. 

"3. Much of the giving was of the heroic type. Mis- 
sionaries in far-off lands gave $100 each; teachers and 
others, with heavy obligations resting on them gave liber- 
ally, ministers receiving small salaries have a large repre- 
sentation among the donors whose giving must involve 
rigid economy and self-denial in personal expenses. 

"Of course, there was in all this effort the ever-present 
and conscious presence and help of God. The work was 
his, was on behalf of his kingdom, and he has given it his 
continuous blessing. His gracious aid is gratefully rec- 
ognized and acknowledged. 

"President Bookwalter is especially to be congratulated 
on his wise and successful financial policy for Western 
College. During his eight years of service at the head 
of the school he has not only ably conducted the institu- 
tion on its income from student fees and other contingent 
receipts, so that there has never been a yearly deficit since 
his connection with it, but he has now provided for the 
liquidation of the entire debt, which, including principal 
and accrued and accruing interest, would not be far from 
$100,000. He has accomplished a gigantic work by the 
blessing of God and the hearty cooperation of those asso- 
ciated with him in college work and in the ministry and 
laity of the patronizing territory of this cherished institu- 
tion of higher learning. His executive skill and his devo- 
tion to a great cause are notable, and deserve commenda- 

247 



Western — Lcander-Clark College ^ 

tion. The Church, likewise, is to be congratulated on 
having so wise, persistent, and consecrated a leader. 

"From what has been here said, despite the hindrances 
to be surmounted, it is not difficult to see how the debt of 
Western College has been paid. There is a practical hint 
in this of at least one way to have an 'education quad- 
rennium.' 

"A grand jubilee was held Thursday evening, January 
2, just after the opening of the winter term of the College, 
to celebrate the successful casting off of this debt-mon- 
ster. While there was a serious side to the demonstra- 
tions of rejoicing and to the congratulatory and enthusi- 
astic addresses, the exuberance of the occasion found 
free expression in college songs and yells. The jubilee 
over the debt raised, will ever be a memorable occasion in 
the history of Western College. The school now enters 
upon a new epoch, with enlarged possibilities of power 
and usefulness. 

''Toledo, Iowa. Marion R. Drury." 

The history of the College during the ten years from 
1894 to 1904 has been told so far, largely as President 
Bookwalter saw it while that history was in process of 
making; the following pages review the same period as 
seen in the new perspective occasioned by the lapse of 
time and extended distance. The extracts are taken 
from personal correspondence, and so naturally have an 
intimate and personal tone. The quotation begins with 
the meeting of friends in Dayton and the influences that 
finally decided President Bookwalter to come to the 
rescue— these in answer to direct questions. 

"We, the Drury boys and myself, had in the late spring 
learned something of the discouraging situation at West- 

248 



President Bookwalter Elected 

ern College, its peril — financial bankruptcy, disunion and 
strife among its friends, and of the effort to secure a 
relief fund of $35,000. After several consultations as to 
what we might do to encourage and aid, we decided, as the 
time of meeting of the Board neared, to ask John Dodds 
to meet with us in counsel, knowing Mr. Dodds' interest 
in the College. So we, M. R. and A. W. Drury, John 
Dodds, and myself, met in one of the editorial rooms of 
the Telescope, June 8, and talked the whole situation 
over. The practical outcome of that conference I find 
stated thus in my memorandum of it. 'We, Western 
College Alumni of Dayton and Brother Dodds sent Waldo 
Drury out to Western College Commencement to consult 
and encourage, pledging us to $500 and Dodds $1,000 in 
their lift for life.' 

"Upon returning, Doctor Drury reported, giving us the 
whole situation — the unfortunate contention of factions, 
the situation internally, the distress financially, and effort 
making to relieve it, etc., but that the tide had turned 
and that purpose and hope prevailed ; that the Board ad- 
journed to meet again July 10 to count up financially and 
to elect a president and organize for the next year. 

"As to who might be chosen as president, little more 
was said then; respecting myself, nothing thought or 
said, so far as I recall, until in his blunt way one day 
John Dodds said to me, 'Bookwalter, you are the man to 
take hold of that thing out there and save it.' Later the 
Drurys named the matter of my going, to which I re- 
plied, 'One of you undertake it yourself.' I did not then 
entertain the thought a minute. 

"But some others named the matter to me, and I re- 
ceived letters asking me to consider the presidency of the 
College, Among them a short letter from Bishop Kep- 

249 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

hart. Finally I did mentally consent to entertain the 
matter in a way. So, personally and through the Drury 
boys, I did some corresponding, investigating sufficiently 
to learn two things of importance : that the spirit of divi- 
sion was rife, with competing candidates for the presi- 
dency, that this spirit had discouraged and even alienated 
from the College many of its friends, both laymen and 
ministers; and, secondly, also that the bottom was clear 
out financially. So I decided that I would not further 
entertain the matter, and therefore had Dr. A. W. Drury 
write the authorities the week before the Board was to 
meet, the following Monday, July 10, that I was neither a 
candidate nor was available for the place. But as I 
learned quite a time afterward. Doctor Drury, after writ- 
ing my decision as instructed, appended a postscript some- 
thing like this, *Bookwalter has said that he will have 
nothing to do with factions and a divided situation, but 
we think that it is possible he might be induced to come 
if he were assured of unanimous support.' So the Board 
seemed to take hold of that suggestion. 

"To my great surprise and confusion, on Monday, 
July 10, early in the afternoon, I received this telegram, 
'You are unanimously elected president of Western Col- 
lege. What of the faculty?' To this I was obliged, 
before five o'clock, to reach the Board with "Yes" or 
"No." 

"With Mrs. Bookwalter and the children and my closest 
friends I advised, while seeking guidance of God, and this 
was our conclusion as a family, that while the call was as 
unwelcome as it was unsought, yet coming as it did, we 
did not feel at liberty to disregard it, but must accept it 
as of the Master's ordering. So I replied by telegram, 
'I accept; leave the faculty to president and Executive 

250 



President Bookwalter Elected 

Committee.' And that is how I came to leave my chosen 
and loved pastoral work for the task of the rescue of 
Western College, for only as to a rescue would I have 
gone. 

"E. F. Warren, who had been elected vice president, 
and myself arranged an early meeting at Toledo, I mean- 
while looking up some men for faculty. Mr. Warren 
had not yet accepted the place. He and I spent several 
days in Toledo with the Executive Committee trying to 
get at the situation financially and internally. Learned 
that the plan was that the president and faculty were not 
to be guaranteed the salaries named, but certain funds — 
the regular incomes from students, rents of halls, 'Tem- 
porary Endowment,' per cents, from the adjunct depart- 
ments of Music and College of Commerce, conference 
assessment and special gifts made for the faculty sup- 
port — with these as a 'Faculty Fund,' they were to run 
the College — meeting expenses of heating, janitor, etc., 
and dividing the net proceeds among themselves. To 
have their own treasurer, etc. Finally, Mr. Warren 
decided to join me in the undertaking, and we outlined 
the work, the chairs we felt could be supported, and 
decided upon the teachers. 

"I arrived with my family August 23. 

"You ask how I got things started. 

"I am obliged to say that because of the factions among 
friends, although not so bitter as they had been — the 
getting people lined up and all moving on harmoniously 
was one of my greatest tasks for a year or more. At the 
very start I, of course, recognized no such thing and 
utterly discarded it in organizing and in work, but I 
was continually 'sailing between Scylla and Charybdis.' 

251 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

But finally my policy had its effect and old differences 
were dropped and all were pulling together harmoniously. 

"Getting up spirit, numbers, and College life internally 
was almost impossible for a time, as the collapse at the 
close of the previous year had chilled and discouraged the 
students. In August I wrote all the more advanced stu- 
dents and sent new literature to all, as well as pastors, 
alumni, and others. The Juniors of the preceding year 
largely came back, but late, after hearing of a good 
faculty, but the Sophomores, almost bodily, I failed to 
get back. So while we had a nice little class to graduate 
in June, 1895, we had in 1896 but one regular College 
graduate, my son Alfred, and one from the Normal 
Department. 

"But by my tireless work along every possible line, we 
got the tide of students turned again toward the College, 
so that the second year brought growth, and in the fall 
term of 1896 we enrolled a net total of 167. Here I 
want to speak in a special way of Prof. E. L. Colebeck 
as a teacher and cultured gentleman and an interested, 
tireless worker. He came to us as a stranger, but threw 
himself with all his fine ability into the work of building 
up the school and along genuine College lines. He was 
with us three years, and his leaving to enter the Univer- 
sity of Chicago for graduate work was much regretted 
by the faculty, management, citizens, and students. He 
filled — filled full an important place at a critical time. 

"I must here speak of the splendid work done by E. F. 
Warren in getting organized and well started internally. 
Mr. Warren fortunately knew the past of the College, and 
so understood also the demands of the peculiar circum- 
stances then upon us, which, joined with his all-around 
knowledge of things, made him an invaluable adviser. 

252 



President Bookzvalter Elected 

With ever3^bocly, president, teachers, students, officials, 
citizens, to have Professor Warren around and in the 
heart of things gave a f eeHng of confidence. 

"The thing that tipped the scale for the better finan- 
cially was the consummating of the $35,000 lift, declared 
accomplished by the Board in special session September 
4. While finally it did not by quite a sum bring the 
full amount of the recognized subscriptions to the treas- . 
ury of the College, yet it brought the much-needed 
immediate relief. 

"For the securing of much of this. Rev. T. D. Adams 
gave the last work of his life, and upon his death Rev. 
Daniel Miller was called to complete the work. I con- 
sider the work these men did at that time of 'life and 
death struggle' worthy of special recognition and grate- 
ful remembrance. 

The school once started, and while collecting and apply- 
ing the funds of the $35,000, Professor Warren and I 
devoted assiduous efi^ort to getting at the exact financial 
condition, debts, assets, etc. Here I must speak of the 
efficient service of Mr. Warren. He was a keen business 
man and an expert bookkeeper. He was some months 
digging into the mass of facts and things. Finally we 
had the real situation, until then really known to no one; 
total debt of $85,000 with little but the valuable part of 
the $35,000 fund as asset against it, over $20,000 having 
been borrowed by the contingent fund of the College and 
no interest paid for years. The large endowment which 
had for years from time to time been reported being only 
notes given by the various cooperating conferences. 
There were a few 'Temporary Endowment' notes to be 
applied in sustaining the teachers so Jong as the payments 
lasted. 

25i 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

"Now, I determined to make to the Church and all 
friends a full statement of the financial condition and of 
our plans for future financing of the College. To this 
the Executive Committee at first objected, saying such 
a public statement would ruin us, to which I replied that, 
on the contrary, such a course of candor with our friends 
Vv^as the only proper and the only means to save us from 
the ruin already almost accomplished. The consent was 
given and the statement was made, clearly, with the hope- 
ful view put foremost, and sent broadcast ; and this course 
was the laying of the foundation for all the confidence 
and the success that the subsequent years saw. 

'T sent this to all our creditors, and it actually was the 
means of inducing them to give us time. There were 
already a half dozen judgments against the College on 
court files, and as many more parties, immediately upon 
my coming to the head of the institution, had written me 
threatening to sue. At the same time we proclaimed the 
policy of making no more debts — 'paying as we go' — 
which policy we adhered to, and by so doing gained 
friends and got thousands. 

"Soon as the people had a little rest from paying the 
$35,000 fund subscriptions, we began working for further 
debt-paying funds. Also, we entered suit to collect the 
death note given by Mary Beatty, of Illinois, which suit 
the College was obliged, at heavy cost, in spite of gaining 
it in all the lower courts, to contend for, sending it to the 
Supreme Court where again and finally we gained it. 

''During the last three years I was both teaching and 
conducting the field work, save that in January, 1896, 
Dr. George Miller joined me, really agreeing to be the 
financier of the College. He did splendid work for a 
few months, securing a larger gift from A. H. Dolph and 

254 



President Bookwalter Elected 

aiding in seeing the Shambaughs, but did not remain in 
the work. So early in 1897 I saw it necessary to take 
hold of the financial work myself as my chief work, and 
secured Rev. W. I. Beatty, College pastor, to teach my 
classes; and in June had the Board relieve me from all 
teaching that I might give myself to the financial problem, 
for while all economy was practiced and every effort put 
forth, yet through the accumulation of interest during 
the year 1896 and 1897 the debt grew upon us. There 
was a money stringency upon all the land and with the 
mass of people it was of no avail to present the claims of 
the College. 

"However, I laid and proclaimed a plan for securing 
another special debt-paying fund, which had its founda- 
tion already laid in large gifts pledged in 1896 to be made 
in payments by Adam Shambaugh and A. H. Dolph and 
John Dodds. The coming to our help of these parties at 
that time, when everything was at a standstill, was well 
nigh our only salvation. This act inspired confidence in 
our final success, as well as contributed toward it. 

"I have mentioned personally some donors, but scores 
and literally hundreds of others who gave from $1.00 up 
into the hundreds during my time at the College are just 
as worthy of grateful mention. Their names and faces 
and homes come afresh to my thoughts as I write, and 
words that they spoke are still in my memory. 

"When John Dodds pressed me to go to the work of 
rescue of Western College, I pressed him for a promise 
that he would stand behind me financially. His word 
was, T'll stand by Mr. Bookwalter,' and I have it to say, 
and with great gratitude, that he kept his promise. Mr. 
Dodds' gifts during the ten years aggregated between 
$18,000 and $19,000 and counted for over $20,000 to the 

255 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

College; for several times in the first two years he sent 
money proposing that he would give it to any creditor 
who would himself give the half of his claim and these 
sums were always taken. I recall also a case where some 
half dozen of our best friends having given pledges to 
the College, and by recent judgment having been entered 
against them, each and all proposed that they would them- 
selves pay so much of the claim if I would see the re- 
mainder paid — their united gifts amounting to a nice sum. 
I had secured all the balance, but one thousand dollars. 
In Mr. Dodds' parlor I laid the matter before him, asking 
for the $1,000 needed, and I had no more than finished 
the statement of the case when he slapped me on the 
knee, saying, 'You shall have the thousand before you 
leave town.' Mr. Dodds often would say, 'You fellows 
out there pull and I will pull too.' He not only aided 
that time, but more than once when we were in distress he 
came to our help alone. He stuck to us through thick 
and thin. And also, through Mr. Dodds' known friend- 
ship and plan of giving, people of the cooperating terri- 
tory were encouraged to give. I feel free in saying 
thousands. So I always felt that without John Dodds 
we could not have saved the College. 

''When I came to Iowa I at once heard of the Sham- 
baugh brothers. I found them each a large contributor 
in the $35,000 fund, and these men were, I am bound to 
say, my chief and unfailing dependence in financial mat- 
ters among the patrons of the College during all my con- 
nection with it. They were at the beginning and in the 
wind-up of every special effort I made, and again and 
again helped when we were close pressed. They were 
as true to the College as the needle to the pole, 

2S6 



President Book-waiter Elected 

**Mr. A. H. Dolph, of Malvern, Iowa, had been inter- 
ested and had helped us at various times, but through the 
efforts of Dr. George Miller he finally made generous 
gifts. He showed himself a man of unusually large 
views and liberal hand for one of his earlier environment, 
and he gave with all his heart. I remember that when I 
was calling, March 18, 1896, at his home that he might 
put into form the $10,000 that he promised to George 
Miller, and he had executed the note I said to him that 
his consecration of money was as important as the con- 
secration of talents of others, that he was as important a 
factor in the promotion of Christian education as a 
college field secretary, or a college president. Where- 
upon, in his modest way, with tears in his eyes, he said, 
'Do you really think so? I am glad to do this.' 

"Memory recalls, as a Vv^arm early friend and liberal 
helper, Alexander Anderson, of Illinois, who at one time, 
in the' fall of 1897, gave me a good start for $500 men, 
being the first of that figure on the list. The spirit that 
accompanied was as great a blessing to me as the money 
was to the College. Another friend whose hand opened 
freely was J. K. Baumgartner, of Orangeville, Illinois. 

"Abram Lichtenwalter, of Tipton, Iowa, an old bene- 
factor, did not forget the College when the needs of these 
times were upon it. Mr. S. R. Lichtenwalter, of Toledo, 
deserves a place second to none, who toiled with me as a 
fast friend of this College, a liberal benefactor and faithful 
official. Among the citizens of Toledo whose past friend- 
ship and constant encouragement and help I especially 
experienced were Hon. H. J. Stiger and W. D. Lee, editor 
of the Chronicle, whose paper was a tower of strength 
for our work in the community. 

257 



Western — Leander-Clark Colleger 

"I should mention as a friend, at a distance awakened 
to interest and liberal helping, John Hulitt, of Hillsboro, 
Ohio. Through my appeals in the Telescope he was led 
voluntarily to propose aid, in annuity gifts, to the amount 
of several thousand dollars. 

"Mention would be befitting of the share past College 
pastors, W. I. Beatty, and Mr. Drury, had in adding to 
home church strength. Special note is worthy to be made 
of the liquidation of the mortgage debt on the Church 
under Doctor Beatty and of Doctor Drury in the follow- 
ing up this advantage with enlargement. 

''Respecting the vital importance of our final lift on 
the debt, which you helped plan, the desperate struggle to 
reach it, the final consummation at that meeting in the 
hotel, you have knowledge of. 

"Also you know of my efforts, which after two years 
were successful, to lead Major Clark to do the great 
thing he did in starting the actual endowing of the Col- 
lege, and my getting everything in shape to make possible 
the meeting of the conditions by getting all papers in 
shape and by taking with me to see Senator Allison, a 
short time before I left for Otterbein University, Mr. 
Ebersole, Dr. E. R. Smith, and Judge Struble. When 
the whole situation was laid before him, at my request, 
he promised to secure a large gift from Mr. Carnegie, 
which he did. 

"Of another thing I must be permitted to speak. I 
consider my securing your return to the faculty of the 
College to have been a matter of importance second to no 
other thing I did. I recall our correspondence, your great 
hesitancy, or, in fact at first declining, my persistence and 
giving of encouraging conditions, and your final decision 
to come. I cannot write to you personally as I would 

258 



President Bookwalter Elected 

wish respecting you or your worth as a scholarly in- 
structor, as my most valued advisor, as a constant strength 
as a man in wholesome, inspiring influence among both 
teachers and students, as the one constant dependence of 
us all. Your service to the College is beyond its power 
of repay. 

"As I now look back over those ten years, the getting 
things on their feet and started, the struggle and burden 
of the years, and the achieving of what was finally 
reached, I confess that I cannot see how we accomplished 
it. I had good people — though not very many part of 
the time — helping; as for myself I knew no such thought 
or word as fail, and surely God was in and over all." 

It is now desirable to go back and trace the internal 
affairs of the College at this period more fully. There 
is necessarily a very close relation between the inner and 
outer life of an institution such as this, and naturally 
the condition of one phase will be reflected more or less 
on the other ; consequently, in presenting the outer, some- 
thing of the inner life has already appeared. 

As has already been seen, the whole matter of running 
the school and its maintenance, so far as each passing 
year was concerned, was placed in the hands of the fac- 
ulty, certain specific sources of income being set aside 
for that purpose, and the provision stipulated that no debt 
for current expenses should be incurred. That gave the 
College really two business organizations — one, the Board 
of Trustees with its treasurer, financial agents, and Exec- 
utive Committee, concerned with the debt and any ex- 
penses of a permanent nature, and the other the faculty 
with its own treasurer and committees concerned with 
collecting tuitions and the other incomes allotted, and 
with paying teachers and other current expenses. This 

259 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

plan laid upon the teachers many petty business details 
and kept them in much uncertainty and considerable anx- 
iety as to their salaries, yet it resulted in a studied 
economy that made every dollar of expenditure count for 
full one hundred cents. For the twelve years that this 
plan was in operation the pay of the teachers approxi- 
mated ninety per cent, of their respective salaries, more 
often, however, falling below than going above that 
amount. Once only, and that was in the heat of the debt 
campaign, were salaries paid in full ; low-water mark was 
reached in 1904 with sixty-five per cent., a result due 
largely to a recent enlargement of the teaching force. 

The attendance, beginning with 217 in 1894, grew stead- 
ily, with the exception of the Spanish- American War 
period, until it reached 340 in 1901, the highest point 
attained within the ten years now considered. Larger 
attendance, of course, brought larger income and more 
enthusiasm, and called for enlarged equipment and teach- 
ing facilities. These came in due order as needed. 

The efficiency of the teaching staff during this period 
was maintained at a very high degree of excellence, al- 
though changes were too frequent for the best interests 
of the school, especially during the first years of the new 
order. At the end of two years, Professor Warren 
found his health giving way under the confinement of 
the classroom and the harassing duties of the vice presi- 
dency, and so resigned to seek recuperation in the out- 
door life of a farmer. As he has filled so large a place 
in the life of Western College, and now passes out of this 
history, it is fitting to pause here for a little further ac- 
count of him and his career. 

Emmanuel F. Warren, born and reared on a farm near 
Tower Hill, Illinois, attended district school, and later 

260 



President Bookwalter Elected 

taught in the country. His college education was secured 
in Westfield College, after which he taught a village 
school, took a commercial course in the famous Eastman 
Business College, of Poughkeepsie, New York, served as 
Principal of Dover Academy three years, took a special 
graduate course in the Bryant Business College, Chicago, 
and then became Principal of the Business Department of 
Western College in the fall of 1887. Here he displayed 
his rare genius for organization. Under his leadership 
the department attained remarkable popularity and a 
standing for thoroughness and efficiency it has not even 
yet surpassed. Professor Warren was most active also 
in other phases of College life. An ardent athlete, and 
at the same time an earnest Y. M. C. A. worker, he was 
the first to bring those two phases of college life together 
and give m^orality and the spirit of Christian manliness 
supremacy even in sports. During the years he was 
athletic manager, rowdyism and profanity were practi- 
cally banished from the campus. As was most natural, 
Professor Warren was soon made superintendent of the 
Sunday school connected with the College church and 
served in that capacity several years. Something of the 
quality of the man and of the baseball team he gathered 
from the College was shown by a rather amusing incident 
that occurred on a baseball trip. It was late Saturday 
night when the game was over, and in order to reach home 
it was necessary to make a long overland journey far 
into the night. As the team was loading into the hack 
preparatory to starting, a crowd of friendly enthusiasts 
gathered around and urged the manager to wait until 
morning; at the reply, "I can't, we must get back for 
Sunday school," the crowd, thinking it was being treated 
to a capital joke, roared with laughter. Even when 

261 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

solemnly assured that the load contained a superintendent 
and four of his teachers, the laugh only took on a touch 
of sarcasm at the absurdity of such an assertion. Pro- 
fessor Warren continued at the head of the business 
department for three years and was then transferred to 
the regular College faculty, and one year later was made 
business manager and treasurer. Then for two years he 
was head of the business department in York College, 
from which he was recalled, in 1894, to assist President 
Bookwalter in the reorganization of Western College. 
After his retirement from teaching, in 1896, he lived a 
happy, useful life, foremost in the religious affairs of his 
community until his untimely death by accident at his 
home in Pleasantville, Iowa, February 9, 1898. 

Miss LeFevre retired from the faculty at the end of 
one year and was succeeded by Miss Maud Fulkerson, a 
graduate of DePauw University, student of German and 
French in Europe for one year, and recently Professor of 
Modern Languages in Washburn College. She filled her 
position satisfactorily for three years and then resigned 
to become the wife of Professor Bower. 

Professor Leonard continued in the Chair of Natural 
Science only two years and was then chosen Assistant 
State Geologist of Iowa, which position he held four 
years. Then he was Assistant Professor of Geology in 
the University of Missouri for one year. Since 1903 he 
has been State Geologist and Professor of Geology in the 
University of North Dakota. 

Professor Colebeck remained as Professor of Ancient 
Languages three years and then continued his graduate 
studies in the Universities of Chicago, Yale, and Wis- 
consin. From 1900 to 1907 he was Professor of Greek 

262 



President Bookwalter Elected 

and Latin in Southern University, and since that has held 
the same position in Birmingham University. 

The first addition made to the faculty under the Book- 
waiter administration was Professor B. F. McClelland, 
who was called to the Chair of English Literature and 
the Principalship of the Academy in the fall of 1895. He 
had come up through the public schools and Westfield 
College, had been eminently successful as a superintend- 
ent of city schools, and in the meantime had qualified 
himself for still more efiicient work by pursuing summer 
courses in the Illinois State Normal, in Chautauqua Col- 
lege, and later in the University of Chicago. Professor 
McClelland brought to his work the skill of a trained 
pedagogue added to an impetuous energy and a lofty 
integrity of character. His influence was soon felt for 
good throughout the whole life of the school. When 
Professor Warren resigned, in 1896, Professor McClel- 
land was elected vice president, and was also chosen 
faculty treasurer, in both of which capacities he was an 
invaluable servant. He possessed an affable disposition, 
took a warm interest in boys and girls, especially those of 
the timid or discouraged sort, and somehow managed to 
meet and greet every stranger who came about the Col- 
lege, whether student or patron. As faculty treasurer. 
Professor McClelland seemed to feel himself charged 
with the financial welfare of his colaborers, and well did 
he guard his trust; no office ever had a more ardent or 
faithful keeper. His intelligent management of finances 
and his sedulous attention to details helped largely to keep 
the pay of teachers up to a respectable amount. 

Professor McClelland's relation to the local community 
was but little less intimate and helpful than to the College 
itself. He was active in municipal and social affairs, and 

263 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

especially in the religious work of his Church. Most of 
the time he was with the College he was superintendent 
of Sunday school. A life so many-sided and active 
necessarily consumed vital energy at a rapid rate. 

Near the close of the fall term, in 1900, Professor 
McClelland's constitution, never abundantly strong, gave 
way, and, after a few days of severe illness, he died 
December 28, the first teacher in the history of the Col- 
lege, so far as the writer is aware, to fall at his post. The 
student community, ever sensitive to sorrow as to glad- 
ness, was deeply touched by the loss of one who stood so 
high in the College family. The following three tributes, 
one by his pastor, one by his associates in the faculty, and 
one by his students, are taken from the College Era : 

''professor benjamin f. m'clelland. 
"The death of Professor Benjamin Franklin McClel- 
land, A.M., of the Chair of English Literature and 
History in Western College, has brought to his friends, 
and to the institution with which he was connected as an 
instructor for more than five years, an inexpressible sense 
of sorrow and loss. Personally, I feel that any tribute 
I can bring to his memory must be too feeble worthily to 
express even my own high appreciation of his character 
and worth. I have known him intimately the past three 
years. To know him as I have known him is to 1 jve 
him and to prize him. His death comes to me, therefore, 
as a personal bereavement. When I think of him and 
of what he was in character and life, what he was in man- 
hood and unselfishness, and what he was as a cherished 
friend and fellow worker, I count it no ordinary privilege 
to speak some words of commendation of his career and 
usefulness. And yet I am too much stunned at the 

264 



President Bookwalter Elected 

sudden removal of one so much esteemed and so worthy 
of grateful recognition to command adequate thought or 
utterance. 

"Oh, the mystery of what we call death ! Only a short 
time ago the loved teacher and friend was with us in the 
strength of his noble manhood, with eager eye anrl high 
aspiration, but now voiceless he is removed from us, an 
unstrung harp, a shattered vase of precious ointment! 
Father, if we were to stop and question the wisdom or 
goodness of thy dealings with us we should grow rebel- 
lious. But we know thou art too wise to err, and too 
good to be unkind, that thou doest all things well, and 
that all things work together for good to them that love 
thee. And still, O Father, it seems to us that when we 
need it most the strong staff and the beautiful rod is 
broken. The teacher has taught his last lesson. Eager 
students thirsting for knowledge will never more sit at 
his feet and receive instruction from his lips. 

" 'Dead he lies among his books, 
The peace of God in all his looks ; 
And the volumes from the shelves 
Watch him silent as themselves. 
Ah ! his hand will never more 
Turn their storied pages o'er. 
Never more his lips repeat 
Songs^f theirs, however sweet.' 

"We shall never hear his voice again. We shall never 
more see his smile or receive his benediction. He will 
not again fill his accustomed place. When we think of 
what he was to us in so many ways and on so many occas- 
ions we are inclined to lament our loss rather than to 
rejoice in his gain. Nay, what we call loss may even be 

265 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

gain to us. In the supreme plan and purpose of God 
nothing good is ever lost. Social affection cannot die; 
the fruits of culture are perpetuated in character forever. 
Memory lives. Nothing is wasted of the soul-treasures 
of the departed, and nothing of the good which has been 
done by them while in the flesh. So it is that what seems 
to us loss is not always really so, for though we are 
separated from cherished spirits they are not lost to us, 
neither is the influence of their lives, for though dead 
they yet speak. Let us not be selfish, then, in our pres- 
ent sorrow, but rather let us rejoice in the gain that has 
come to a fellow traveler. After a brief and toilson.ie 
day he has entered into his rest. Heaven is richer now 
for his going hence, for all his gentleness and truth, his 
winning ways and humble faith, his purity of thought and 
guileless speech will make him at home in the city 'whose 
white portal shuts back the sound of sin.' Oh, brother, 
thine is the crown and palm, ours but the dust, the coffin, 
and the sod; yet we will forget our grief in thy joy, pro- 
moted now to the dignities and trusts for which thou 
hast been preparing from the days of thy youth! Ah! 
what gain ! Earth with its struggles and weaknesses, its 
sorrows, and its pains exchanged for heaven and ever- 
lasting life! 

''Moreover, our gain in the substantial legacy which 
our friend has left us is equally real with his, and is 
another source of abiding consolation. What is that 
legacy? Born of sturdy Scotch-Irish lineage, enjoying 
early and careful parental nurture, inheriting an earnest 
but even temperament, with liberal culture, he early gave 
promise of a useful life. That promise was realized in a 
notable sense. That is the legacy he has left us — the 
legacy of a good life, the memory of a good man. Some 

266 



President Bookzvalter Elected 

of the elements entering into this choice legacy which he 
has bequeathed to us are : 

"1. His true manliness. Buckminster says that the 
sublimest thing in nature is the moral grandeur of a true 
manhood. But long before the days of this writer an 
old Latin comedian said: 'I am a man, and I regard 
nothing pertaining to humanity as foreign to me.' And 
long before the days of this astute writer, a dying king 
of Israel left this solemn message to his son and succes- 
sor : 'I go the way of all the earth ; be thou strong, there- 
fore, and show thyself a man.' And long after that 
advice was given to an heir of the throne, a distinguished 
apostle concludes two of his immortal epistles with the 
same practical admonition. In one he says : 'Stand fast 
in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.' In the other 
he says : 'Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his 
might.' 

"In what does true manliness consist? We recognize 
it wherever it is found. It stands out boldly in history. 
It has been eulogized in poetry and immortalized in song. 
The tongue never grows weary of speaking its praises. 
In what does it consist? Not in strength and size of the 
human body, not even in intellectual greatness, not in 
chafing under wholesome restraints, not in imitating in- 
discriminately, the conduct or habits of others. No, it 
consists in distinct moral qualities, love of virtue, integ- 
rity, kindness, and thoughtfulness of the rights of others, 
moral courage, and stability and faithfulness of character. 
True manliness, like true politeness, has its seat in the 
heart. It consists in its essence in love to God and love to 
men. Professor McClelland possessed these qualities in 
a preeminent sense. He had high ideals. He was consci- 
entious and transparent. He was a manly man, 

267 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

"2. He has left us an example of marked heroism. 
He had a frail body, but his life work was performed 
with the valor of a giant. His courage was not the least 
among his winning qualities. 

"3. , His generosity. He loved his fellow-men and he 
lived for them. His self-forgetfulness was one of his 
notable characteristics. In his last illness his thoughts 
seemed constantly to be upon others. He even advised 
against having an .only brother called to his bedside 
because it would take him from his business at a time 
when he could not well be away, and besides, because it 
would spoil his Christmas at home. It was because he 
loved men that he had such a strong place in the affec- 
tions of those who knew him. 

"4. His loyalty to his church and pastor. He was 
steadfast in his devotion and service to the church of his 
choice. His example in this respect is not only an inspir- 
ation, but it abides as a benediction. 

"5. His sincere and earnest Christian life. This be- 
gan during the first year as a student in college. His 
consistent living was ever a strong testimony to the genu- 
ineness of his religious profession and an unquestioned 
commendation to this noble character. He loved his 
work as a teacher of young people, and he performed it 
with reverent and benevolent motives. 

"His life was one of consuming activity. Though he 
died at the age of forty-three, he lived long, because he 
lived so well and so fast. Of him it can truly be said 
that as a man, as an educator, as a citizen, as a Christian 
worker, in all his relations with his fellows, he was ever 
guided by a high sense of duty. The memory of his life 
is a priceless legacy to the community, the College, the 

268 



President Bookwalter Elected 

Church, and to his personal friends. To him belongs the 
Master's highest encomium, 'Well done, good and faithful 
servant/ 

"Marion R. Drury." 

"tribute of respect to a fallen comrade. 

"Passed by order of the faculty of Western College, 
December 29th, 1900. 

"We, who were so intimately associated with Professor 
B. F. McClelland in the faculty, desire to pay this formal 
tribute of respect and esteem to his memory. 

"We sorrow over his untimely taking off as only those 
who are enlisted heart and soul in some great cause can 
sorrow at the loss of one whose presence has become a 
benediction, and whose services are all but indispensable. 

"Professor McClelland had endeared himself to his 
associates by his genial and charitable spirit, but more by 
his fidelity and ardent devotion to a lofty sense of duty. 

"Keenly alive to his responsibilities as a teacher and a 
most conscientious steward of the business entrusted to 
his care, he, in a large measure, sacrificed his life that the 
cause he served might not suffer at his hands. 

"Western College, the church of his choice, and the 
local community have suffered a loss that will not soon 
be repaired. 

"We who knew Professor McClelland best, learned to 
appreciate his work as a man, and to value his work. 

"He was energetic, faithful, punctual, and courageous, 
a conscientious student, an enthusiastic teacher. 

"May all that was best in his life remain as a benedic- 
tion upon the cause of education in which he was so thor- 

269 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

oughly enlisted, and especially upon this College to which 
he gave the richest treasures of his heart and mind. 

"L. BOOKWALTER, 

"H. W. Ward, 

"Committee." 

"memorial of professor b. f. m'clelland. 

"Recommended by the committee on resolutions ap- 
pointed by the student body, and unanimously adopted. 

"The death angel having entered our midst, and having 
removed one whom we have learned to love and respect : 
We, the students of W^estern College, moved by the deep- 
est sorrow over the loss of our beloved instructor, the 
late Professor McClelland, desire to place on record this 
memorial of our departed friend. 

"We recognize that in Professor McClelland we have 
lost not only a respected instructor, but that each of us 
has lost a personal friend, an elder brother, to whom none 
of us ever appealed in vain for sympathy or aid. 

Professor McClelland, during his years of association 
with us, identified himself with the very highest interests 
of the College in general, and with the personal welfare 
and advancement of every individual student; and his 
daily life was to each one an inspiration to a more diligent 
service, a purer living. 

"While we mourn the loss of our dear Professor, we 
rejoice in the nobility of his character, and in the blessed 
hope of a resurrection, when our Heavenly Father shall 
awaken us all in a better life, and with us shall awaken 
our loved Professor. For 'God's finger touched him and 
he slept.' 

"Professor McClelland might truly say with the Apostle 
Paul : 'For me to live is Christ, but to die is gain * * * 

270 



President Bookzvalter Elected 

for I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, 
and to be with Christ which is far better ; nevertheless, to 
abide in the flesh is more needful for you.' And again, 
'For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my 
departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I 
have finished my course, I have kept the faith; hence- 
forth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, 
which Jehovah, the righteous judge, shall give me on that 
day, and not to me only, but unto all them also that love 
his appearing.' 

"To the bereaved ones we extend our loving sympathy, 
and commend them to the care of him who 'doeth all 
things well.' 

" 'The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away. Blessed 
be the name of the Lord.' 

"G. B. Jackson, 
"Mabel Smith, 
"W. R. Stouffer, 

"Committee." 

The same year that brought Professor McClelland to 
the school brought also Miss Anna Richards as Teacher 
of Elocution and Physical Culture. This department had 
not yet attained prominence, and for some years past had 
been entirely neglected. Miss Richards possessed an 
earnest personality, rare teaching ability, and high 
perfection in her art, insomuch that she soon built up 
a strong department that has since remained a necessary 
part of the College's culture life. It was a cause of keen 
regret that ill health compelled her to retire after two 
years; she was succeeded by Mrs. Minnie Gates. The 
department has been most fortunate in having at its head 
a succession of teachers such as Miss Mary Peterson, 

271 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

with her charming personahty, contagious enthusiasm, 
and fine artistic sensibiHty ; Miss G. Mabel Wallace, with 
her bright animation and quick intelligence; Forrest S. 
Cartwright, with his logical sense of oratorical construc- 
tion; and Mrs. May Louise Wilson, with her queenly 
dignity of bearing, her understanding sympathy of inter- 
pretation, and her unusual dramatic power. 

The Chair of Natural Science, previously occupied by 
Professor Leonard, was filled in 1896 by calling to that 
position B. A. Sweet, a successful school superintendent 
of Illinois, more recently a graduate student in science in 
the University of Chicago. Professor Sweet, with his 
overflowing enthusiasm, untiring activity, and genial com- 
panionableness endeared himself to everybody during the 
three years he consented to remain in the position before 
returning to complete his graduate studies. He was 
almost boyishly fond of college sports, and, as a fisher- 
man, was perhaps the most passionately eager and amaz- 
ingly successful that ever agitated the muddy waters of 
the Iowa. 

Professor Thomas E. Savage followed Professor Sweet 
in the Chair of Science in 1899. He came directly from 
graduate study in the State University of Iowa and filled 
the position for four years with preeminent ability and 
thoroughness. He left to accept the position of Assist- 
ant State Geologist of Iowa, and later was called to the 
University of Illinois as Professor of Geology. In 1902 
the Chair of Natural Science in Western College was 
divided, and Professor J. W. Bowen was made Professor 
of Physical Science, which position he held two years; 
Professor Savage continued in the Department of Biology 
one year longer, and was succeeded by S. W. Collett for 
two years. 

272 




REV. FRANKLIN E. BROOKE, D.D. 
President since j90S. 



President Bookwalter Elected, 

The faculty of the College of Liberal Arts was farther 
enlarged in the fall of 1897 by the addition of Professor 
H. W. Ward, called back to Western after an absence of 
four years, spent partly in graduate study in the Univer- 
sity of Chicago and partly as teacher in Manchester Col- 
lege. His return has helped to form a thread of con- 
tinuity in the internal life of the College, an essential 
hitherto wanting in the history of Western College. Pro- 
fessor Bartlett furnished the thread of connection for the 
first ten years of the College's life; President E. B. Kep- 
hart covered a span of thirteen years and gave the College 
a sense of solidity and permanence that went far toward 
carrying it through its later times of stress and storm; 
President Bookwalter, with six years as professor and 
ten years as president, the two periods separated by a long 
interval, covered a longer span yet and helped the College 
to establish a well-planned, consistent, and far-reaching 
policy, and some sense of the bond that links past, present, 
and future in unity of purpose and of affection; Profes- 
sor Ward, with only nineteen years of actual teaching in 
this College, holds the record so far for length of service 
on the faculty, a rather sad commentary on the brevity 
of the average duration of service in that body. It may 
be noticed, however, as a hopeful sign that those two 
longest terms overlap for several years at the middle, and 
in the extremes reach over a considerable portion of 
the history of the institution; and, furthermore, that 
Professor Yothers and Miss Cronise, who jointly have 
already reached the next longest terms, date back into that 
overlapping period. 

Upon the death of Professor McClelland, Professor 
Ward was transferred to the Chair of English Literature, 

273 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

and at the same time was elected vice president of the 
College. 

The Chair of Mathematics, vacated in 1896 by the 
resignation of Professor Warren, was at that time filled 
by the selection of Professor Raymond E. Bower, who 
served the department with keen alertness and efficiency 
for two years and then retired to fit himself for the 
medical profession. He was succeeded by Professor 
J. F. Yothers in 1898, who, with the exception of a year 
in study at the University of Chicago, has since filled 
the position to the gratification of authorities and stu- 
dents. For some time he was treasurer of the faculty 
fund, and with the change under the endowment he was 
made College registrar, in which capacity, as well as in 
the class room, his services became indispensable. Pro- 
fessor Yothers is also a most important connecting link 
between the College and the larger social, civic, and relig- 
ious life of the community. 

When, in 1898, Miss Fulkerson laid down the work of 
the Department of Modern Languages, Miss Florence M. 
Cronise was chosen to fill the position. She had already 
spent two extended periods in study in Europe and has 
since taken one year's leave of absence for further study 
abroad. As a missionary with practical experience in the 
foreign field, she has been able to give valuable help to 
the mission band of the school. 

Professor J. A. Ward, who had been Principal of the 
College of Commerce in 1890-91, was called to that posi- 
tion again in 1898, and later transferred to the Chair of 
Philosophy in the College of Liberal Arts. During this 
period the Department of Commerce flourished as it had 
previously done under the leadership of Professor War- 
ren. Prof. J. A. Ward withdrew from teaching in 1902. 

274 



President Bookwalter Elected 

The Normal School of Western College was created 
as a distinct department in 1898, and with it was joined 
the new Chair of Economics and Sociology. To this 
position Professor Romanzo Adams was called from the 
graduate school of the University of Michigan. Professor 
Adams remained two years and then went to earn his 
Ph.D. degree in the University of Chicago, after which 
he was made Professor of Education in the University 
of Nevada. 

The Conservatory of Music had been seriously affected 
by the panic years and recovered somewhat slowly. The 
first two years after the crisis August Hailing had charge 
of the Musical Department. Then for three years 
Francis W. Gates conducted the Conservatory, giving 
instruction in both piano and voice. Then came a great 
expansion for the Department of Music. The Director 
of the Conservatory now gave his whole time to piano 
and organ, and a distinct department of voice was created. 
George Pratt Maxin, of New England, was made 
director, and Miss Marie Bookwalter principal of the 
Voice Department. Professor Maxim, a man of sterling 
worth and a musician of very high attainments, gave a 
strong impetus to this department for two years and then 
returned east to take up musical work there. Dr. Charles 
R. Fisher had charge of the department for one year. 
Then, in 1902, John Knowles Weaver, a graduate of the 
Royal Conservatory, Leipsic, Germany, was made 
director. Professor Weaver, a finished musician and a 
conscientious worker, set himself steadfastly to build up 
the department; he remained seven years. 

Miss Marie Bookwalter was elected, in 1899, teacher 
of voice at a time when the Department of Voice existed 
only in theory. So capable, so energetic, and so master- 

275 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

ful did she prove that in a year or two the department 
became one of the most flourishing connected with the 
College. 

Other teachers in the College faculty for comparatively 
short periods were: Raymond P. Dougherty, Professor 
of Greek and Principal of the Normal School one year; 
Ida B. Fleischer, supply Professor of Modern Languages 
one year ; Charles Ray Pearsall, Professor of Greek and 
Latin two years ; and W. R. Morrow, Assistant Professor 
of Greek two terms ; Mrs. Laura McClelland, as faculty 
treasurer at her husband's death and as teacher in the 
Academy, gave most faithful service four years. 

Student life at this period was earnest and full of 
activity. Several departments of athletics attained prom- 
inence. Within this period the College gained some 
prominence in the State Oratorical Contest. A quartette, 
composed of Frank Maxwell, E. B. Ward, C. F. Ward, 
and A. A. Ward, styled the Maxward Quartette, made 
the College known by their songs at conventions and camp 
meetings, and by a summer concert tour through Iowa 
and Illinois. Early in this period the first paper con- 
ducted by students, and at the same time confined wholly 
to the College news, was started by the Philophronean 
Literary Society; the paper was called the College Era. 

Perhaps the most characteristic student activity at this 
period, outside of the regular college and literary work, 
was in the religious life centering about the two Christian 
Associations. Perhaps no other period of equal duration 
could count more earnest workers or show deeper spirit- 
ual consciousness. For a short time Mr. and Mrs. Cain 
were here in person, and, even while absent, exerted a 
strong influence on the religious life of the school. Here 
was A. G. Bookwalter, later so prominent in eastern 

276 



President Bookw alter Elected 

Y. M. C. A. circles, and here were his sisters active in 
the Y. W. C. A. Here also were Lucie Smith, Julia 
Overholser, Grace Halstead, Lois and Lizzie Talbot 
among the girls, and Philo Drury, E. B. Ward, E. A. 
Benson, S. S. Wyand, George Jackson, J. H. Yaggy, 
Charlie Ennis, H. T. Miller, and many more among the 
boys. From this period, too, have come most of our 
foreign missionaries. The mere list is eloquent : Besides 
the Cains, there are Mr. and Mrs. P. W. Drury, Mr. and 
Mrs. E. B. Ward, Frank Field, Mr. and Mrs. Trindle, 
Mr. and Mrs. A. A. Ward, Rilla and Angle Akin, Mr. 
and Mrs. Doty, and Mr. and Mrs. H. T. Miller. 

This period started again the interrupted stream of 
graduates to Yale, first A. G. Bookwalter, then Philo 
Drury, J. E. Foster, J. W. Coddington, C. F. Ward, 
Frank Field, S. S. Wyand, W. A. Brenner, W. S. Donat, 
G. B. Jackson, A. A. Ward, J. H. Yaggy, H. W. Cramer, 
J. M. Skrable, B. F. Roe, and J. J. Shambaugh. Others 
went to pursue advanced work in other universities, 
especially in Chicago University and the State University 
of Iowa. J. H. Underwood received the first scholar- 
ship granted to a student of Western in the State Univer- 
sity. 

On the whole, this was a period of sound scholarship 
and serious activity. 



277 



Chapter XII. 

THE NEXT STEP. MAJOR CLARK's PROPOSITION. 
DELAYED HOPES. INAUGURATION OF PRESIDENT KEP- 
HART. ENDOWMENT CAMPAIGN. MAJOR LEANDER 
CLARK. SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. INTERNAL 
AFFAIRS 

When the shouting over the debt had subsided and the 
fire-works had gone out the College authorities became 
fully aware of what they had only partly seen before, 
namely, that the serious work of making a College had 
only begun. No new income had been created with which 
to enlarge the life of the College, and the people had so 
exhausted themselves in the desperate effort to throw 
off the debt that they must be given a breathing spell be- 
fore a further appeal to them could be made successfully. 
Besides, most of the pledges were in notes to be paid in 
installments, or at some future day. It was plain that a 
permanent income must be provided. 

In his report to the Board, in June, 1902, President 
Bookwalter recommended the raising of $150,000 endow- 
ment in order to secure an adequate income for the Col- 
lege. The Board heartily approved the recommendation 
and appointed President Bookwalter, Leander Clark, 
M. R. Drury, and Alexander Anderson a committee to 
draw up plans for carrying out the endowment move- 
ment ; later L. B. Hix, secretary of the Board, was added 
to the committee. At the same time the Board proposed 
to give to any one who would contribute $50,000 toward 
the endowment fund, the privilege of naming the College. 

It was estimated that about five years would be re- 
quired to secure the endowment proposed and derive the 

278 



The Next Step 

income therefrom; hence President Bookwalter was in- 
structed to procure a temporary endowment or pledges 
to pay a given sum annually for five years, such annual 
payments to aggregate at least one thousand dollars and 
to be available for paying current expenses. 

Thus the year closed amid high hopes and great 
expectations, though the hopes rested upon general rather 
than upon specific grounds. The plan of operating the 
school on its incomes was still adhered to, except that 
for the coming year the teachers were guaranteed ninety 
per cent, of their salaries. It was at this time, too, that 
the Chair of Natural Science was divided and a teacher 
of Physical Science was added to the faculty; this neces- 
sarily made heavier running expenses, and, together with 
an unexpected falling off in the tuitions, caused an acute 
situation at the end of two years. 

The first year passed without anything tangible as a 
result of the efforts to secure an endowment. Then 
came the first great encouragement. At its meeting, in 
June, 1903, the Board received from Major Leander 
Clark, of Toledo, Iowa, the following proposition: 

"Toledo, Iowa, June 13, 1903. 

"To the Board of Trustees of Western College: 

"Gentlemen : For some months past I have had under 
consideration the resolution passed by you at your meet- 
ing in June, 1902, wherein you approve of a movement 
to raise an endowment fund for the College, and propose 
to give the name of the College to any one who will 
donate the sum of fifty thousand dollars to such an 
endowment fund. 

"I have lived in Toledo for many years, have seen the 
College established here, have watched with interest its 

279 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

varying fortunes and have observed the benefits it has 
conferred upon the comunity and upon the Church under 
whose auspices it is managed, in providing the means 
of a good education to many who would otherwise have 
been deprived of such advantages, and I have from time 
to time contributed to its support, beheving that in so 
doing I was aiding a worthy cause. And now that the 
burden of debt has been lifted, it is my opinion that the 
next necessity of the institution is an ample, permanent, 
and well-guarded endowment. 

"To encourage the raising of such fund, I have con- 
cluded to accept the proposition made in your resolution 
above referred to, and I hereby propose to lay the foun- 
dation for an endowment by making a donation of the 
sum of fifty thousand dollars on the terms and conditions 
following, to wit: 

"1. Said donation is to be payable, according to the 
terms hereof, in cash, or in notes bearing interest at not 
less than five per cent, per annum, payable annually, and 
secured by first mortgages on clear and unincumbered 
farm lands worth twice the value of the sums secured. 

"2. Said donation is payable upon the express condi- 
tion that said College or its friends shall secure additional 
donations to said endowment fund in the sum of one 
hundred thousand dollars in cash, or in notes bearing 
interest at not less than five per cent, per annum, payable 
annually, and secured by first mortgages on clear and un- 
incumbered farm lands worth twice the amounts so 
secured— the whole of said additional sum of one hun- 
dred thousand dollars to be raised and paid, or secured to 
the College in the form and manner aforesaid on or be- 
fore January 1, 1906. 

280 



'"""""'- The Next Step 

**3. H. A. Shanklin, cashier of the Toledo Savings 
Bank, and W. A. Dexter, cashier of the First National 
Bank, of Toledo, Iowa, or their successors as such cash- 
iers, shall be a committee who shall carefully examine all 
the funds and securities offered by the said College as 
going to make up said additional sum of one hundred 
thousand dollars, for the purpose of determining whether 
or not condition number two above has been fully and 
fairly complied with. Said committee may demand ab- 
stracts of title to lands offered as security, and any other 
evidence necessary to the discharge of its duties, and shall 
tabulate all funds, notes, and securities offered, and report 
the same with its findings to the undersigned not later 
than January 10, 1906; and as soon thereafter as the 
undersigned is satisfied that condition number two has 
been fully and fairly complied with, he shall report that 
fact to the endowment committee appointed by the Board 
of Trustees. But should the undersigned not be living 
to receive the report of said committee, or should he for 
any reason be incapacitated to consider the same, then 
said committee shall make its report in like time and 
manner to the judges of the district court of Tama 
County, Iowa, and such judges shall fully consider the 
same, and if they are satisfied that condition number two 
has been fully and fairly compK^d with, they shall report 
that fact to the endowment committee appointed by the 
Board of Trustees. 

"4. Upon such report being made to the endowment 
committee, either by the undersigned or by said judges, a 
meeting of the Board of Trustees shall be called (if not 
already in session) as soon as is practicable, and said 
Board shall then, by proper action made of record, fully 
accept said donation of $50,000, with all the terms and 

281 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

conditions on which it is offered as herein expressed, and 
solemnly pledge the College to the strictest compliance 
with such conditions forever, and thereupon said sum of 
$50,000 shall be due the College in manner and form as 
aforesaid, and the same shall be paid to the College by the 
undersigned or his legal representatives. And at the 
samie meeting the said Board of Trustees shall make 
provision for the change of the name of the College to 
Leander Clark College, and shall provide for such change 
by proper amendment of its articles of incorporation, and 
forever thereafter the College shall be known as Leander 
Clark College. 

"5. The whole of said sum of $150,000 shall constitute 
a permanent endowment fund, the principal of which shall 
be protected and forever held sacred as such, and no part 
of it shall ever on any pretense, or in any emergency, be 
pledged or hypothecated for any purpose, or be diverted 
directly or indirectly to any other purpose, or temporarily 
or permanently loaned to any other fund of the College, 
but it shall be kept at interest at the best rate obtainable, 
and secured only by first mortgages on clear and unin- 
cumbered farms or lands worth twice the amount secured 
thereby, and the Board of Trustees shall establish and 
continue in perpetual operation the proper agency for 
keeping said fund fully and securely loaned as herein 
contemplated. 

"6. The Board of Trustees shall by proper action 
provide for such periodical expert examination of said 
fund — principal and interest — as will insure its proper 
investment, its businesslike management, and a proper 
accounting by those having it in charge. 

"7. The interest arising from said fund of $150,000 
shall be used under the direction of said Board of Trus- 

282 



The Next Step •- 

tees as a faculty fund only — that is, for the payment of 
president and teachers — ^and no part of it shall be diverted 
to any other use or purpose. 

*'8. If by any mismanagement or misfortune any part 
of the principal of said fund should be lost, then the 
Board of Trustees will at once proceed to raise other 
money to make such loss good, and the money so raised 
shall be forever held sacred to the same purpose as the 
original fund. 

"9. In order that the Trustees may never lose sight 
of the obligation assumed by the College in relation to the 
said fund, the Board shall make provision for the reading 
of the permanent conditions hereof, on the first day of 
each regular session and they shall be so read accordingly. 

"10. The time designated above for the raising of said 
$100,000 by the said College is of the essence of this 
proposition, and if said sum is not raised by January 1, 
1906, as contemplated in number two above, then this 
proposition shall be absolutely null and void and of no 
effect. 

"11. This proposition is to become effective and bind- 
ing upon the undersigned only upon its acceptance by the 
Board of Trustees of said College at its regular meeting 
in June, 1903, but if accepted by said Board, it shall be 
binding not only upon the undersigned, but also upon his 
heirs and legal representatives for the time and upon the 
terms hereinbefore named. 

"In conclusion, I desire to state that my purpose in mak- 
ing this proposition is to encourage the friends of the 
College to rally to its support and to aid in establishing it 
upon a financial foundation that shall be enduring. It is 
my opinion that men of wealth will more readily contri- 
bute to a fund which is so safeguarded as to be a means 

283 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

of good forever, than to one which by some possibility 
may be lost or diverted from its original purpose. With 
the double view, therefore, of making sure that my own 
contribution shall forever be held sacred to its purpose, 
and of encouraging others to join with me in raising a 
fund which will insure the College not only a temporary 
relief, but perpetual prosperity and efficiency, I have 
deliberately provided that the whole sum of $150,000 
contemplated by this proposition shall be in funds of 
certain value, and that, when raised, they shall be invested 
and' managed with the utmost care and wisdom. 

"I have deemed these closing remarks expedient for 
the purpose of explaining the good faith of this proposi- 
tion to such as may not have considered so fully as I have 
done, the necessity of guarding against the diversion of 
an endowment fund to other uses, and thus in the end 
defeating the object of the donor. 

"Respectfully submitted, 

"Leander Clark." 

A committee to which the matter was referred made the 
following report, which report was unanimously approved 
by the Board : 

"endowment of western college. 

"Your committee to which was referred the endow- 
ment proposition of the Hon. Leander Clark would re- 
spectfully report, as follows : 

''Resolved, 1. That we hereby record our profound 
appreciation of the generous proposition of Mr. Clark to 
this Board, to give $50,000 for the endowment of West- 
ern College on the condition that $100,000 additional be 
secured by January 1, 1906, thus providing for a perman- 
ent endowment fund of $150,000. 

284 



The Next Step 

"2. That we heartily accept Mr. Clark's offer in all 
its specifications and provisions, and that we extend to 
him our most earnest thanks for the large and substantial 
gift proposed, evidencing his broad public spirit and 
practical Christian philanthrophy, and, further, that we 
pledge to him a faithful and united effort to meet all the 
conditions named by him, that this institution may be 
early and adequately endowed, and that our good faith be 
shown by the signing of this proposition, on behalf of 
this Board, by the president pro tem, and that this action 
be duly attested by the secretary. 

"3. That we regard this proposition to lay a founda- 
tion for the permanent endowment of the College as both 
opportune and providential, and worthy the consideration 
of the friends of higher Christian education, and we 
would urgently ask them to give this forward movement 
their practical encouragement. 

"4. That, in order to the full realization of the ends 
sought in this important undertaking, President Book- 
waiter be constituted the special endowment agent, and 
that he give his time, so far as may be consistent with 
his other duties, to the work of soliciting funds on this 
special endowment proposition, and that he be given 
authority to employ such assistance and on such terms as 
he may deem necessary and wise. 

"L. BoOKWAIyTER, 

"M. R. Drury, 

"D. C. OVERHOLSER, 

"Committee." 

The Board thus committed itself anew to the endow- 
ment effort, though a few still felt that the raising of the 
$100,000 required to meet Major Clark's proposition was 

285 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

an almost hopeless undertaking. However, there was 
now a substantial start, and President Bookwalter pushed 
the canvass with renewed energy and courage. As the 
time for completing the endowment was now definitely 
limited, it was necessary to be up and doing. 

The first step was the securing of additions to the tem- 
porary endowment sufficient to provide for expenses while 
the endowment campaign should be carried on. Then 
President Bookwalter made an extended trip to the east 
in an effort to enlist philanthropists in our undertaking. 
Rev. N. F. Hicks was again employed and placed in the 
cooperating territory. Yet at the end of the school year 
President Bookwalter was compelled to report no ma- 
terial progress on the endowment, and a note of discour- 
agement crept into the discussions of the matter. 

The note of discouragement deepened when the internal 
affairs of the school were discussed and conditions 
brought to light. It was found that the funds available 
for the payment of teachers had fallen off considerably 
and that larger demands were now made upon the fund 
because of the enlargement of the teaching force made 
just after the debt campaign. As a consequence two 
teachers resigned and much discontent was discernible in 
the College community. To add to the discouragement, 
President Bookwalter was, some weeks after commence- 
ment, called to the presidency of Otterbein University, 
and, although he continued the duties of his office until 
September, no successor had at that time been found. 
As a last important service to Western College, President 
Bookwalter headed a committee, composed of prominent 
citizens of Toledo, to Dubuque to call on Senator Allison 
and enlist his help in making an appeal to Andrew Car- 
negie in behalf of our endowment enterprise; Bishop 

286 



The Next Step 

Kephart added the weight of a long and intimate personal 
friendship and Senator Allison graciously used his influ- 
ence to open the way whereby the magnificent gift was 
afterward received from Mr. Carnegie. 

On the day of President Bookwalter's resignation, the 
Executive Committee issued the following succinct state- 
ment of the affairs of the College at that time : 

"To THE Public : 

"Inasmuch as rurnors have been afloat for some days 
relating to the administration, condition, and immediate 
prospects of the College, we, the members of the Execu- 
tive Committee, deem it proper to publish the exact facts 
for the information of all concerned. 

"President Bookwalter has only this day been elected 
to the presidency of Otterbein University in Ohio. He 
has accepted the position, and has tendered his resigna- 
tion as president of Western College, to take effect Sep- 
tember 1 next, or as soon as his successor is elected and 
introduced to his work. His resignation has been 
accepted, and, though the question of a successor has been 
canvassed, and there is every reason to hope that the place 
will soon be filled, the time has been too short in which to 
consummate a matter of so much moment. While the 
Executive Committee has the power to fill the vacancy, it 
is probable that the Board of Trustees will be convened 
to take final action, as well as to transact some other busi- 
ness needing attention at this juncture in the affairs of 
the College. Meanwhile, President Bookwalter remains 
in charge, aided, as heretofore, by his competent and effi- 
cient vice president. Professor Ward, and everything will 
proceed as if no change were impending. 

287 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

"Vacancies in the faculty have been filled and additions 
thereto have been made, as follows : Professor Edward 
O. Fiske, of Iowa City, has been chosen to be Professor 
of Mathematics, and also principal of the Academic De- 
partment. Professor W. Leslie Verry, of the University 
of Chicago, has been elected to the Chair of Greek and 
Latin. Mr. Clarence H. Elliott, an alumnus of Western 
College, has been chosen as special instructor in Chem- 
istry and assistant in the College of Commerce. 

"Sketches of these gentlemen will be furnished to the 
press along with the announcement, from which it will be 
seen that they come to us well qualified for the work 
which they severally have to do. A full and competent 
faculty will be on hand to begin the work of the ap- 
proaching College year. 

"As to the financial condition of the College a word 
should be said. The enormous debt which rested upon 
it when President Bookwalter came to its head has mostly 
been paid, and over against what yet remains unpaid 
there are in bank notes sufficient assets to pay the last 
dollar of it, and these are sacredly set apart for that 
purpose. 

And while there is no permanent endowment fund, 
obligations to the extent of about $6,000 have been se- 
cured and placed in bank to aid in the paying of teachers 
and in meeting some other special demands pending the 
raising of an endowment fund. The proceeds from these 
obligations cannot be diverted from the purpose for which 
they were taken. 

"President Bookwalter has unbounded faith in the 
possibility of securing the $100,000 necessary to meet the 
conditions attached to the proposition of Hon. Leander 
Clark to donate $50,000 for an endowment fund, and he 

288 




PROFESSOR HENRY W. WARD 
Dean cf the College five years and Membei of the Faculty twenty \ ears. 




DR. W. O. KROHN. Ph.D. 
Medical Writer and Nerve Specialist. 



PROFESSOR E. F. BUCHNER, Ph.D. 
Professor of Psychology, Johns Hopkins 
University. 




JUDGE U. S. GUYER 
Jurist and Political Reformer. 



REV. WILLIS A. WARREN 
Pastor Congregational Church, Columbus, 

Ohio. 

A Quartet of Western Boys Who Have Made Good 



The Next Step 

has a very well-defined plan for securing that amount in 
the near future. 

*'As to the resignation of President Bookwalter, we, as 
members of the Executive Committee, desire to say that, 
while we join in the universal regret which his retirement 
occasions, we fully recognize not only his right, but his 
duty to himself, his family, and the world to go where he 
deems the field to be wider, the opportunities greater, and 
the weight of care less burdensome. His ten years' 
service as president of the College have been years of 
self-sacrificing, arduous toil, so arduous that only the few 
who have been nearest to him can realize the burdens he 
has borne and the work he has done. But he has success 
for his reward, and that success he leaves as a blessed 
heritage to the College in the form of a debt paid and a 
glorious future made possible. With gratitude for his 
devotion, and admiration for his success, and love for the 
man whose endowments of head and heart have made his 
devotion and success possible, and have endeared him to 
us all, we bid him God speed as he goes forth to the new 
field to which he has been called. 

''Dated at Toledo, Iowa, August 2, 1904. 

"E. R. Smith, 
"S. R. Lighten WALTER, 
"W. F. Johnston, 
"E. C. Ebersole, 

"S. S. DOBSON, 

''Executive Committee." 

When the date for the opening of the fall term was 
drawing near and no president had yet been secured, the 
Executive Committee appointed Vice President H. W. 
Ward as dean and acting president, and the local aflfairs 

289 



Western — Leander-Clark College 



t>' 



of the College went on smoothly, students and teachers 
cooperating in a fine spirit of loyalty to the College. The 
outside interests, however, were at a temporary standstill, 
as there was no financial agent at the time, all such work 
having been left to the president. The endowment cam- 
paign necessarily waited until a president should be 
found. 

On February 14, 1905, the 6oard of Trustees met, at 
call of the Executive Committee "to elect a College presi- 
dent and to transact such other business as may be 
advisable." At this meeting Rev. Cyrus J. Kephart, 
formerly president of Avalon College, and still earlier 
president of Lebanon Valley College, was elected presi- 
dent of Western College. At the same meeting the 
Trustees provided a handsome budget for the payment of 
salaries. 

President Kephart entered upon his administration 
duties at once with his accustomed energy and earnest- 
ness. Plans were at once set on foot for increasing the 
attendance of students, and at the same time the endow- 
ment canvass was renewed with vigor. 

The second great encouragement in the endowment 
canvass came in the form of the following letter from 
Andrew Carnegie, sent in response to a direct appeal 
previously made by the Executive Committee: 

"Andrew Carnegie, 2 East 91st Street. 

"New York, April 5th, 1905. 
''Dr. C. J. Kephart, President of Western College, 
Toledo, Iowa: 
"Dear Sir : Mr. Carnegie has read over the papers in 
regard to Western College, Toledo, this morning and 
notes that a local benefactor has promised you fifty 

290 



The Next Step 

thousand dollars when you have raised one hundred 
thousand dollars new endowment. Mr. Carnegie desires 
me to say that he will be glad to give fifty thousand dollars 
of the proposed one hundred thousand dollars new en- 
dowment when the other fifty thousand dollars has been 
collected. 

"Respectfully yours, 

"Jas. Bertram^ P. Secretary." 

The letter was received by President Kephart on April 
8, 1905, and sent an electric thrill through the whole 
College community as the rumor of its contents flew 
rapidly from lip to lip. Now at last all united in firm 
faith that the whole endowment could be reached, that 
the goal of so much striving was already in sight ; natur- 
ally enthusiasm ran high. The student body, always 
quick to idealize and ready to look upon the greatly de- 
sired end as achieved as soon as earnestly sought, held an 
impromptu jollification with ringing of bells, bonfires, hila- 
rious parades, and shoutings until enthusiasm expended 
itself in sheer excess. 

All this helped to nerve the authorities for the struggle 
yet ahead in securing the remaining $50,000. Everyone 
felt that now was the supreme opportunity for the Col- 
lege; the chance to make every dollar contributed to the 
cause in which one is enlisted bring two other dollars to 
that cause does not come often in a lifetime. Accord- 
ingly the campaign was waged on a much larger scale 
and at a much higher tension. The Executive Committee 
engaged Rev. R. E. Graves to enter the active canvass in 
the field in connection with President Kephart. 

In harmony with the new hopes and dawning possibili- 
ties for the school, it was planned to introduce an innova- 

291 



Western — Leander-Clark Colleger 



i>' 



tion upon former practices at Western and hold formal 
inaugural ceremonies for President Kephart in connection 
with the coming commencement season. Since such a 
ceremony is unusual in the history of the College, and 
was on this occasion of extraordinary interest in itself, it 
will be well to insert here the account as published in the 
Toledo Chronicle, June 15, 1905: 

"A half hour or more before time for the inauguration 
exercises the big United Brethren Church auditorium 
and adjoining rooms were crov/ded to overflowing, and 
when the procession arrived at the church and occupied 
seats reserved for them, standing room was at a premium. 

"W. A. Dexter, chairman of the Inaugural Committee, 
presided and announced the program. The exercises 
began with a selection from the Toledo Orchestra, com- 
posed of P. L. Swearingen, cornet ; C. E. Berry, clarinet ; 
R. E. Mead, flute; Dr. St. Clair, slide trombone; Misses 
Zae Cannon and Zoe Norton, vioHns; Miss Helen Gra- 
ham, piano. 

"Rev. Filson, of the Tama Presbyterian Church, offered 
the invocation. 

" 'Lift Up Your Heads, O Ye Gates,' was given by the 
Conservatory Chorus of fifty voices with Miss Marie 
Bookwalter leading and Prof. J. K. Weaver at the organ. 
It was simply grand as was also the Hallelujah Chorus 
given by them at the close. 

Chairman Dexter read letters of greeting from Doctor 
Bookwalter, Westerville, Ohio; Bishop E. B. Kephart, 
Annville, Pa. ; Bishop Mills, Annville, Pa. ; Bishop Wm. 
M. Bell, Dayton, Ohio; W. R. Funk, of the United 
Brethren Publishing House, Dayton, Ohio; George E. 
MacLean, State University of Iowa; President William 
F. King, Cornell College ; Dan F. Bradley, Iowa College ; 

292 



The Next Step 

Isaac Loos, State University ; Governor A. B. Cummins ; 
Senator Allison; Senator Dolliver; Ex-President A. M. 
Beal, Moline, Illinois ; Secretary of Agriculture James 
Wilson, and possibly others, all containing kind words and 
best wishes for the future of Western College. 

"Jwdge G. W. Burnham, of Vinton, spoke for the State 
of Iowa. He showed to Toledo that he was an orator as 
well as an able jurist. We doubt whether we ever heard 
a public speaker crowd so much into a five-minute ad- 
dress. It was a gem from start to finish. 

"Prof. Richard C. Barrett, of the State Agricultural 
School, brought the greetings from Iowa colleges. He 
showed that he was at home as a public speaker, and 
pleased and entertained as he extended the glad hand of 
sister colleges to the new era just dawning for Western. 

**Rev. W. I. Beatty, for the alumni, always witty and 
pleasing, was at his best and most fittingly did he pledge 
the alma mater that her children would see her through 
to the end. 

"Major Clark, on account of ill health, just recovering 
from whooping cough, was well represented by Doctor 
Drury. 

"Editor C. J. Wonsor bore the greetings from sister 
Tama. He told how Toledo and Tama have become 
cemented largely through the College influences and 
humorously referred to College athletics and other rela- 
tions of the two towns. His remarks were well received 
and he closed amidst a burst of applause. 

"Hon H. J. Stiger was announced as substitute for 
Judge Caldwell, who was unexpectedly called from town. 
Mr. Stiger fittingly referred to President Beardshear and 
others who have been his successors at Western; also 
how Toledo people had stood nobly by them in every 

293 



Western— Leander-Clark College 

time of adversity and assured the new president that they 
could be depended upon in the future as in the past. His 
remarks were timely and well received and left no ques- 
tion in the minds of the people as to where Toledo's loyal 
people stood in time of need. 

*'Rev. W. A. Briggs, of the Congregational Church, 
representing the city churches, showed how the Christian 
church was an aid to the moral tone of a town, how it 
aided the cause of religion, and how its influence was not 
alone confined to the town in which it was located. He 
pledged the good will of all Toledo churches to Western 
College and extended to the new president the best wishes 
of Christian people. 

"When President Cyrus J. Kephart was introduced the 
great audience greeted him with prolonged cheers and 
the waving of hundreds of flags. It was such a greeting 
as but few men receive in a lifetime, and, together with 
the greetings of those preceding him, it was no wonder 
that he was almost overcome with emotions of joy at the 
loyalty and good fellowship extended to Western College 
through him as its chief executive. When quiet was 
resumed and thanks had been expressed he entered upon 
a scholarly address on the subject, 'The Purpose of Cul- 
ture.' Seldom has a Toledo audience listened to so ably 
written an address, and its delivery was above criticism. 
He showed that man reached his greatest height through 
culture and that the colleges of the land were the means 
to the end. The benediction was given by the president. 

"Thus closed, perhaps, the most eventful commence- 
ment Western ever had, although there have been many 
eventful ones. This, we say, surpasses others in that it 
means that Western is on the verge of a future that 
carries with it the perpetuity of the institution. The 

294 



The Next Step 

necessaries for this future existence are being secured, 
and it means advanced ground along all lines. Long life 
to Western and her most worthy constituency !" 

The meeting of the Board of Trustees, in June, 1905, 
was more largely attended than usual, especially by mem- 
bers from a distance, and more enthusiasm was mani- 
fested and a deeper interest taken than had been evident 
for many years. All seemed imbued with the one idea 
of securing the balance of the $50,000 needed to meet 
the like amounts offered by Mr. Clark and Mr. Carnegie. 
A number of the liberal donors to the endowment fund 
were present and were enthusiastic in their belief that 
the balance could and would be secured. Several of 
these donors pledged themselves to canvass among their 
friends and try to secure gifts from them. Rev. R. E. 
Graves was elected field secretary, and President Kephart 
was relieved from class work and left free to devote his 
whole energies to the canvass. 

But six months now remained before the time limit set 
by Mr. Clark would expire, and more than $30,000 had 
yet to be secured. There was need of a whirlwind cam- 
paign, and that was the kind set in motion. Now was 
repeated, only with more eagerness, the campaign of four 
years previous, with President Kephart and Field Secre- 
tary Graves in the forefront of every battle. Daniel 
Mclntyre, of Gladbrook, Iowa, contributed $10,000, and 
another long leap was taken toward the top of the hill. 
Others made large donations, and a multitude of small 
ones swelled the whole amount. Toledo again called a 
mass meeting, volunteered to raise $10,000, appointed 
Hon. C. E. Walters, W. C. Smith, D. W. Turbett, J. J. 
McMahon, W. A. Dexter, D. Camery, and C. W. Ennis 

295 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

a soliciting committee and raised more than the amount 
assumed. As the conditions of Mr. Clark's proposition 
required that the full $100,000 should be in the hands of 
the College on January 1, in cash or first mortgages on 
real estate, it was necessary to close the canvass in time 
to allow all collections to be made ; accordingly, November 
30, was fixed as the day for winding up the campaign. 

And Thursday, November 30, Thanksgiving Day, 1905, 
will always be a red-letter day in the calendar of Western 
College. President Kephart and Field Secretary Graves 
having done their uttermost in the field returned home to 
report. Bishop Weekley came from Des Moines to lend 
the inspiration of his presence and counsel. John Sham- 
baugh, Adam Shambaugh, W. H. Trussell, and C. Os- 
mundson, all trustees from a distance, were on hand to 
see that the undertaking should not fail. All these, to- 
gether with the Executive Committee, soliciting agents, 
College faculty, and interested friends met in the Business 
Men's Club Rooms, Toledo, to hear reports and learn 
what must yet be done. It was ascertained that several 
thousand dollars must be raised before midnight or the 
whole endowment scheme would fail. Anxiety naturally 
became intense. Secretary Graves kept the long distance 
wires warm communicating with friends in the field who 
had agreed to give pledges at the last in case their pledges 
should become necessary. Several visiting trustees pre- 
sented pledges they had been authorized to offer in case 
of emergency. The citizens' committee pushed its can- 
vass in Toledo on into the night, securing considerably 
more than was asked of them. As the hours of the night 
deepened the amount rose almost to the required mark 
and then seemed unable to go any higher. Finally, about 
eleven o'clock, Hon. E. C. Ebersole, who had been in 

296 



The Next Step 

touch with friends in the East, reported that he had re- 
ceived a sufficient sum to make up the deficit in the 
endowment fund, then approximately $3,500 — later when 
collections fell short at the last he turned in $1,500 
received from the same source and making up the $5,000 
donated by the Keister brothers. This announcement, 
assuring the endowment by a safe margin, was received 
with a burst of applause, and the long emotional strain 
suddenly relaxed. Strong men wept and others cried 
"Thank God." President Kephart broke spontaneously 
into a fervent prayer of thankfulness to God for giving 
this great victory to crown the long struggle. 

Such good news could not long be confined to one small 
room, but spread abroad. Soon the College bell was peal- 
ing out the glad announcement on the frosty night air in 
the cheeriest tones that ever came from its melodious 
throat. Then, as v/as inevitable where enthusiastic stu- 
dents were concerned, another rejoicing procession 
paraded through the streets and sang out their joy ; if 
the truth must be told, some of the boys in the procession 
had reached two score and ten or more. 

The next month witnessed a record breaker in the way 
of speedy collections on so large a scale, due largely to 
the previous preparation for just such quick responses. 
The list of donors contained several hundred names scat- 
tered over a wide territory, and yet before January 1 the 
whole $50,000 was on deposit in the Toledo banks and 
Mr. Carnegie's $50,000 was guaranteed. 

The closing chapel exercises of the fall term, December 
18, were in a quiet way an occasion to remember. 

It was the last chapel service that would ever be held 
under the old name, now grown to be almost an object of 

297 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

veneration in itself. This was planned as a farewell to 
the old name, and naturally the spirit of the occasion was 
mellowed by a touch of sadness, though exuberant youth 
can not long look regretfully backward when there is a 
glorious promise just ahead. The College band made its 
initial public appearance and aided in the enthusiasm of 
the occasion. The different classes came out in their 
class colors and indulged in songs and yells. The serious 
part of the program consisted of addresses by representa- 
tives of the four College classes, the Academy, the Busi- 
ness College, and the Faculty. 

The legal steps to be taken in making the change of 
name required a longer time than was anticipated, and so 
it was not until January 23, 1906, that the Board met to 
complete the transaction. 

At that meeting Leander Clark, after stating that he 
was fully satisfied that the one hundred thousand dollars 
contemplated in his proposition had been raised in strict 
accordance with the terms of his proposal, placed in the 
hands of the secretary of the Board his note for fifty 
thousand dollars, due in ten days, and payable in cash 
or new notes secured by mortgages on real estate of not 
less than double the value of the notes. 

Dr. M. R. Drury then offered the following resolutions, 
which were unanimously adopted : 

''Resolved, 1. That we hereby record our profound 
appreciation of the generous gift of Mr. Clark of $50,000 
to complete the $150,000 endowment. 

**2. That we hereby accept Mr. Clark's donation with 
all the terms and conditions on which it was offered, and 
solemnly pledge the College to the strictest compliance 
with such conditions forever; and that we extend to him 
our earnest thanks for the large and substantial gift." 

298 



The Next Step 

All the conferences cooperating with Western College, 
namely, Des Moines, Northern Illinois, Wisconsin, Min- 
nesota, and Iowa, had already each and all, by vote duly 
taken at their several annual sessions, approved the prop- 
osition to so amend article one of the Articles of Incor- 
poration to change the corporate name of the College to 
"Leander Clark College," with provision, however, that 
such amendment shall take effect only upon its adoption 
by the Board of Trustees, after the Hon. Leander Clark 
shall have actually made to the College a donation of 
$50,000 in accordance with his proposition made to and 
adopted by the said Board at its meeting in June, 1903. 

As the Board was the only legal body belonging to the 
College that had not yet taken formal action in the matter, 
it remained only for a favorable vote of the Board to com- 
plete the change of name. Such a vote was taken by a 
call of yeas and nays on a formal motion including pre- 
amble and resolution offered by W. C. Smith and sec- 
onded by F. E. Brooke. The vote, unanimously for the 
motion, was completed at exactly 2 : 45 p.m., January 23, 
1906; then the president of the Board declared the cor- 
porate name of the College changed from "Western 
College" to "Leander Clark College." Thus the name 
Western passed into the realm of fading, but cherished 
memories. 

On the evening of January 23, faculty, students, and 
citizens joined in a jubilee to celebrate in a formal way 
the consummation of the endowment movement, and 
especially to inaugurate the new order of things under 
the new name. The jubilee was held in the United 
Brethren Church, which had been profusely decorated 
with new Leander Clark pennants; a large portrait of 
Major Clark held the place of honor over the rostrum, 

299 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

supported by a gorgeous banner with "Leander Clark 
College" worked in large gold letters across it. Songs 
and yells in which the name of Leander Clark constantly 
recurred kept the walls of the building echoing at every 
opportunity. Speeches of congratulation and felicitation 
were made by representatives of the organizations and 
interests most deeply concerned. Thus another eventful 
day in the life of the College passed into history. 

HON. LEANDER CLARK. 

As Major Clark's splendid gift of $50,000 inaugurated 
a new era for the College that now bears his name, and 
entitled him to be honored and loved as the second 
founder and chief benefactor of the College, readers of 
this history will be delighted to learn something of his 
\ personal history. 

Leander Clark was born at Wakeman, Huron County, 
Ohio, July 17, 1823. His boyhood days were spent on 
the farm with his parents. The training for a busy and 
successful life was begun in the public schools and later 
supplemented by a period of study at the Academy of 
Oberlin College. In 1849, with a party, he started across 
the plains and arrived at Sacramento after a journey of 
seven months. In 1852 he returned to the States by 
way of the Isthmus of Panama and came to Tama County, 
Iowa, where he has since resided. 

Mr. Clark v/as elected Justice of the Peace in 1855, and 
Judge of Tama County in 1857, which office he held for 
four years. In 1861 he was sent to represent Tama 
County in the General Assembly. When the call for 
volunteers came, he resigned and enlisted as a private in 
the 24th Iowa Infantry. He was elected captain of 
Company E. In October, 1862, the regiment went into 

300 



The Next Step 

the field and Captain Clark accompanied it for nearly 
three years, participating in almost all engagements. In 
September, 1864, he was promoted, and as major contin- 
ued with his regiment until January, 1865, when he was 
made lieutenant colonel. At the battle of Champion 
Hill, Mississippi, he was wounded in the face by a small 
ball. He also received a slight wound at the battle of 
Winchester, Virginia. In August, 1865, at the close of 
the war he was mustered out with his regiment. Major 
Clark bears the reputation of a brave soldier and officer. 

On his return to civil life he served another term in the 
legislature, and in 1866 was appointed Indian Agent for 
the Sac and Fox Indians. The remainder of his life has 
been devoted to the quiet prosecution of his business 
interests and the peaceful enjoyment of his home life, 
broken into years ago by the deepest domestic sorrow in 
the loss of his wife. 

Major Clark's wealth is the result of intelligently 
directed industry aided by modest tastes and by the nat- 
ural growth of a new and rapidly developing community. 
Coming to Iowa in the early days when land was cheap, 
he slowly but surely built up a fortune by taking advan- 
tage of the natural increase in values, gradually extending 
his holdings until they comprised large sections of Iowa, 
the Dakotas, and Missouri. Later entering the banking 
business, he was for years the president of the Toledo 
Savings Bank, and has been intimately connected with the 
commercial growth of this section of the country. He 
is an excellent example of the stalwart and sterling type 
of citizen to whose skill and industry the present develop- 
ment of the western country is due. 

Until his last illness, in his eighty-eighth year, Mr. 
Qark retained personal direction of his business affairs, 

301 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

and took a lively interest in the students of the College, 
especially in their athletic doings and intercollegiate 
debates. He always received the warmest welcome and 
the seat of honor whenever he visited the College or 
attended its functions. Ripe in years and full of honors, 
he passed peacefully away on December 22, 1910. 

The first business of the corporation under its new 
name was the investing of the endowment fund. As a 
preliminary step to this end, Hon. E. C. Ebersole, known 
and esteemed through a long life for his absolute integrity 
of character, sound business methods, and intimate knowl- 
edge of law and legal forms, was elected financial secre- 
tary with the endowment fund as his chief care. An 
Investment Committee, consisting of Dr. E. R. Smith, 
S. R. Lichtenwalter, and W. F. Johnston, was elected and 
charged with the duty of passing final judgment on all 
loans. In an incredibly short time all of the endowment 
fund was placed on real estate loans secured by mortgages 
as provided in Major Clark's original proposition. 

After a year or two Mr. Ebersole, finding the details 
of College finances too laborious for him, laid down all 
such duties, except those relating to the endowment; 
these he retained under the title of Endowment Secretary, 
until March, 1910, at which time he was succeeded by 
Hon. H. J. Stiger. 

The year 1906 gained a double distinction in the annals 
of the College by witnessing the ceremonies connected 
with the change of name and also those celebrating the 
semi-centennial of the founding of the College. The 
conjunction of two such important events naturally 
wrought interest to a very high pitch. Preparations had 
long been under way for holding, in connection with 
commencement week, 1906, the Semi-Centennial Celebra- 

302 



The Next Step 

tion and Home Coming of Old Students, and now a deeper 
interest on that occasion was aroused by the glorious 
ending of the endowment campaign. Special programs 
were arranged, class and society reunions were planned, 
and attractive advertising did the rest. 

Centennial Week brought the largest gathering of old 
students and friends of the College that Toledo has ever 
seen. They came overflowing with the spirit of good 
fellowship and tingling with the sensation of youth 
almost returned. Such a jolly crew of good comrades, 
pathetically intent on escaping for a space from life's 
exacting demands and cares into the freedom and unham- 
pered joys of youth, can not be found except at college 
anniversaries. 

One of the most touching, though informal, programs 
of the week was the dedicatory and memorial service 
held in the College chapel Wednesday afternoon. Por- 
traits of all the presidents of the College, except the first 
and the last, had been procured, together with the por- 
traits of Leander Clark and Rev. M. S. Drury, and these 
had been arranged appropriately around the walls of the 
College chapel. The special purpose of this hour was 
the dedication of these pictures and the holding of 
memorial service in remembrance of the presidents who 
had passed away. A gentle tenderness and reverence per- 
vaded this part of the exercises, deepened by the fact that 
former President E. B. Kephart, brother of President 
C. J. Kephart, had died but very recently, and President 
Beardshear and M. S. Drury not very long before. Rela- 
tives of these were present, some of them taking part in 
the ceremonies. Earnest memorial addresses were given 
by former associates and close friends of the dead. 

303 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

of Toledo and Tama, Mayors and City Councils of Toledo 
and Tama, City School Boards of Toledo and Tama, Pub- 
lic School teachers of Toledo and Tama, College Alumni, 
Conservatory Alumni, Graduates of Adjunct Depart- 
ments, College students, past and present, Indian Train- 
ing School Band, and Indian Training School. The line 
of march was to the courthouse square and then back 
through Main Street to the United Brethren Church. 

The program at the church consisted of music by the 
bands, the song "America" by the audience, prayer by 
Bishop W. M. Weekley, greetings from Hon. W. B. 
Allison, Hon. James Wilson, and others, followed by 
addresses. Professor I. A. Loos, of the State University 
of Iowa, spoke of "The Educational Pioneer," and in his 
address referred with strong emotion to his former asso- 
ciation with the faculty of Western College; Hon. A. R. 
Burkdol, '77, spoke feelingly and most impressively of 
"Student Days at Western" ; Rev. I. L. Kephart, D.D., 
of Dayton, Ohio, a former member of the faculty at old 
Western, related "Some Faculty Experiences" in his 
happiest vein ; U. S. Guyer, '94, of Kansas City, discussed 
in a most able manner "The Lawyer and His Alma 
Mater." The formal address of the afternoon was by 
Rev. F. E. Bruner, A.M., of Chicago, on the "Evolution 
of the Pioneer." Pushetonequa, Chief of the Musquakie 
Indians, occupied a seat on the platform in all his official 
regalia. He was introduced and made a brief speech 
through his interpreter. 

So closed another red-letter day in the history of the 
College. 

For the two years covered by the endowment canvass 
and those immediately following, the student life of the 
College reflected in a measure the great events through 

306 



The Next Step 

which the College was passing. In two lines of student 
activity there was rather a pronounced drift at this time, 
namely, athletics and public speaking. The movement in 
athletics was but part of a State-wide movement to bring 
college athletics under the immediate control of the per- 
manent officers of the colleges instead of leaving the 
matter wholly to the management of constantly changing 
student bodies. To this end a conference of Iowa col- 
leges was organized, composed of representatives elected 
by the different college faculties from their number; the 
conference determined uniform rules for eligibility and 
other matters pertaining to intercollegiate contests. I.ean- 
der Clark joined the conference and adopted a local plan 
whereby athletics were managed jointly by representatives 
elected by the faculty, the students, and the alumni. The 
plan worked much benefit, especially to the tone of 
athletics. 

As an encouragement to better training for public 
speaking the authorities of the College provided classes in 
Elocution and in Oratory and Debate open to all College 
students without extra tuition. They also offered prizes 
for winners in the oratorical contest. As a consequence 
there has grown a much higher ideal of systematic train- 
ing in oratory. 

Student organizations and student activities have shown 
a tendency to multiply in recent years, often to the detri- 
ment of regular class-room work ; it should be said, how- 
ever, that most of the activities possess a value of their 
own. Here, as in real life, success turns on learning 
where to lay the emphasis. 

The teaching force had at this time begun to show a 
hopeful tendency toward continuity, a sufficient number 
to form a good working nucleus continuing for a decade 

307 



Western — Leander-Clark College 



&' 



or more. A few excellent teachers came, stayed a short 
time, and then passed on to other work. Professor Fiske 
retired after one year, and Professor Yothers returned 
from graduate study in the University of Chicago to take 
up the work laid down the year before. 

Professor J. Ellis Maxwell was called, in 1905, to the 
Chair of Biology and Chemistry in Western College from 
the position of Dean and Professor of Natural Science 
in York College. His administrative experience, calmly 
judicious turn of mind and pedagogical tact added to 
unusual proficiency in his chosen subjects made him a 
valuable addition to the faculty. He had a talent for 
influencing and directing the collective student activities, 
especially such as the lecture course, Y. M. C. A., and the 
managemient of athletics. When Professor Maxwell 
withdrew, in 1909, to enter the more remunerative busi- 
ness field, his withdrawal occasioned much regret. 

Professor E. S. Smith came, in 1905, as Principal of 
the reorganized Normal School. He remained until 1907, 
at which time the new State law had shifted the emphasis 
from Pedagogy of secondary rank to Education of strictly 
College grade. Professor Smith then returned to public 
school work. 

In 1906 Professor J. Harding Underwood was secured 
as Professor of History and Political Science. He was 
an alumnus of this College, and had won unusual scho- 
lastic distinctions ; the year following his graduation from 
Western he was Graduate Scholar in Economics in the 
State University of Iowa; and the next year Fellow in 
Economics in the same university; and the next Univer- 
sity Fellow in Sociolog}^ in Columbia University, from 
which university he received the PLD. degree. Pro- 
fessor Underwood's work had reached only the middle of 

308 



The Next Step 

his first year in Leander Clark College when, to the great 
disappointment of his classes here, he was called away to 
a similar position in the University of Montana. Since 
going to Montana, Professor Underwood has been sent 
e.H'h year as commissioner from Montana to the Inter- 
national Tax Conference, and has written several mono- 
graphs on economic subjects — "Distribution of Owner- 
ship," 1907 ; "Inheritance Taxation," 1908 ; and "Debtor's 
Homestead Exemption," 1909. 

Professor G. E. Chapman was the successful Principal 
of the Business College from 1905 to 1907 and 1909-10. 
He has also been financial secretary for the College since 
1907. 

Mrs. W. C. Pierce has been the very efficient teacher 
of Shorthand and Typewriting since 1906. Most of that 
time she has been also secretary to the president, a posi- 
tion for which she is peculiarly well qualified. It would 
be difficult to find any office wnth more orderly, more 
complete, or more accessible records than the College has 
now. 

An important forward step was the creation, in 1907, 
of the Chair of Education and the calling of Professor 
Ross Masters to fill the new chair. The department is 
now fully recognized by the State Educational Board, and 
graduates who have the required credits in Education are 
granted a five-year State certificate, subject to renewal. 
Professor Masters is gifted as but few men are with a 
happy faculty for imparting instruction. He is genial, 
tactful, always alert, and full of apt devices. He has been 
affectionately styled "the students' friend." 

Charles Rollin Shatto, another alumnus, was called to 
the Chair of History and Political Science, in 1907, to 
succeed Dr. Ira Holbrook, who had supplied the depart- 

309 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

ment after the resignation of Professor Underwood. 
Professor Shatto grew from boyhood in the very shadow 
of the College, and consequently is thoroughly imbued 
with its spirit and traditions. He has taken a deep 
interest in the management of many student activities. 

The calling of Professor A. P. Kephart, in January, 
1908, as Professor of Physical Science and Director of 
Athletics, makes another forward step toward the system- 
atic control of College atheltics. Though he remained 
but two terms, Professor Kephart was able to inaugurate 
what has since been worked out as a fixed policy, namely, 
the direction of athletics, especially on the business side 
and in the matter of intercollegiate relations by a mem- 
ber of the regular College faculty. The system is prov- 
ing most beneficial. 

President C. J. Kephart took up the work of the presi- 
dency in February, 1905, at a time of severe stress and 
considerable depression. Little in the way of tangible 
results had so far come from the effort to meet Major 
Clark's offer in the matter of endowment and the internal 
life of the school was suffering from the recent loss of 
one who had been its head and trusted leader for ten 
years. President Kephart threw his whole soul and all 
his mighty energy into the work. His share in the great 
endowment effort has been given already, and it remains 
only to mention his superb qualities of masterful leader- 
ship and his management of the closing days of that 
memorable campaign, and especially in the planning and 
directing of the Semi-Centennial Celebration and Jubilee. 
As soon as the finances of the school gave promise of 
allowing it. President Kephart turned with deep satis- 
faction to the class room and devoted to instruction what 
time could be spared from field duties. As a teacher, 

310 



The Next Step 

President Kephart possessed the elements of greatness. 
He was earnest, thoughtful, fond of profound problems, 
and endowed with pedagogical instinct of a high order. 
His greatest strength, however, lay in his rare gifts as a 
platform orator; whether the occasion called for a ser- 
mon, a bit of inspiration for the moment, or an elaborate 
address, he was ever ready to rise to the occasion and win 
distinction for himself and for the College he represented. 
Owing in part, at least, to the attractiveness of the pulpit. 
President Kephart resigned in 1908 and accepted a call 
to the First United Brethren Church, Dayton, Ohio. 

Some of the College enterprises carried to successful 
completion by President Kephart, in addition to complet- 
ing the $150,000 endowment, are: The converting of 
Drury Hall into a modern home suitable for the College 
president; the building of a temporary gymnasium; the 
placing of a new furnace in Beatty Hall and in the Con- 
servatory of Music; extensive repairs on the furnaces in 
the Administrative Building; putting in cement walks at 
the College and at the Conservatory; practically doubling 
the equipment of the science laboratories and the number 
of volumes in the library. 



311 



Chapter XIII. 

ANOTHER PRELIMINARY STEP. PRESIDENT F. E. 

BROOKE. BURNING OF NOTES AND MORTGAGES. IN- 
TERNAL AFFAIRS. TEACHERS AND STUDENTS. 

QUADRENNIAL CELEBRATION. 

The Board meeting of June, 1908, revealed a somewhat 
new aspect of the ever-recurring dilemma of running a 
College. When the endowment was secured the cooper- 
ating conferences, feeling that the apportionment they 
had been paying annually toward the support of the 
College was now no longer needed, ceased almost entirely 
to make their usual contributions ; perhaps even the Col- 
lege authorities were momentarily beguiled into believing 
that such contributions might soon be dispensed with. It 
was soon discovered, however, that the added income 
from the endowment was not sufficient to cover the added 
expense of paying salaries in full and of making the 
additions to the teaching force the situation demanded, 
and a margin of obligations had accumulated through the 
repairs and improvements mentioned at the close of the 
preceding chapter, each leaving a considerable margin 
between the final cost and the funds secured for the 
special improvement. 

But the great source of embarrassment was still the 
old debt. Some twelve thousand dollars remained un- 
paid, and every dollar of it was drawing interest ever}^ 
day. Repeated efforts had been made to collect the notes 
and pledges that had been given to meet the debt, yet for 
various reasons payments on principal were coming in 
very slowly and payments on interest were insignificant. 
So, as a natural consequence, the debt had ere this out- 

312 



Another Preliminary Step 

grown the dependable debt paying assets, and the margin 
between was widening every day. It is no disparagement 
to the donors to say that the money value of the debt 
notes was decreasing with the lengthening of time; such 
is the case also with commercial obligations. In this case 
a surprisingly large proportion of the donors were persons 
of small means, very many of them itinerant ministers 
dependent upon their meager salaries for the support of 
their families. With such, sickness and death meant utter 
inability to pay, and unforeseen financial embarrassment 
meant a case calling for forbearance at the hands of a 
benevolent institution supported by charity. Some, too, 
no doubt, feeling the obligation less and less as time went 
by, were seeking excuses to escape altogether. 

From these three sources the College found itself face 
to face with a debt of more than twenty thousand dollars, 
and the imperative need of prompt and decisive action to 
keep the amount from increasing. As a first step the 
Board of Trustees issued a strong official appeal to the 
cooperating conferences, asking them to return to the 
plan of annual assessments for the benefit of the College ; 
the amount asked for was twenty-five cents per member 
each year. The next step was to find a man for the 
vacant presidency who could stop the leaks in old 
resources and create new resources where none existed, 
who v/as, in fact, a modern captain of industry capable of 
taking a complicated business and so organizing it as to 
insure the least possible waste and the largest possible 
margin of profit, and who at the same time was a genius 
at winning and holding patronage for this enterprise. 
He must be the model college president described by the 
Indian Witness: "The college president of to-day needs 
to be a man who can go out and pick up a hundred dollars 

313 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

before breakfast and round up a half million or so by the 
time he goes to bed. He must be young, too, and amaz- 
ingly popular both with the father who wants his boy to 
behave and with the boy who does not want to behave. 
There is a job for this man at twelve hundred dollars a 
year." 

After extended search and much deliberation the 
Trustees selected for the presidency of the College a 
young man of their own number with no other experience 
in college administration than came to him as an energetic 
member of the Board, but with invaluable discipline in 
other positions of responsibility. That young man was 
F. Ellsworth Brooke, at the time organizer and first pastor 
of the First United Brethren Church, Kansas City, Mis- 
souri. The wisdom of the choice is becoming more cer- 
tain every day. President Brooke is succeeding even 
beyond the expectation of his closest friends, and is 
revealing a talent for conservative, yet thoroughly aggres- 
sive and creative financial administration that is close 
akin to genius. 

The biography of President Brooke would read much 
like that of any typical American, who, through combined 
capacity, character, and aspiration, plus a native tact, has 
risen to a position of trust and responsibility. A youth 
in the country, a few years of teaching in the public 
schools, a college education that cost real effort and sacri- 
fice, soiiie years in the ministry, and then the management 
of a large business — such is the story. The business 
experience, with its discipline of absolute method and 
exhaustive calculation of resources, has been an invaluable 
preparation for the administration of a modern college 
wherein the chief demand is for the qualities of a captain 
of industry and a master of men. President Brooke 

314 



Another Preliminary Step 

possessed also to a high degree the abiHty to map out a 
whole course of action, and then carry the plan through 
with persistent energy. Along with that goes a touch of 
contagious hopefulness and a gleam of larger possibilities. 

President Brooke's first task was to wipe out the indebt- 
edness against the College as a preliminary step to larger 
endowment and new buildings, but at the same time the 
immediate internal needs of the school must not be neg- 
lected. As a starter toward the latter, John Shambaugh 
promptly gave $1,000 with which to refurnish the chemi- 
cal laboratory, and Adam Shambaugh followed with $500 
for the same purpose. Other friends furnished money 
for remodeling rooms for the Business College and for 
other equipments. Then the direct attack upon the old 
debt began. 

As resources for paying the debt the College had, 
first, a bundle of old notes of somewhat uncertain value ; 
second, a farm in Minnesota ; and third, a true and tried 
constituency. The farm was soon converted into cash 
and the money used to cancel debt and stop a proportion- 
ate amount of interest. For collecting the old notes a 
systematic, vigorous, and persistent plan was put into 
operation with surprisingly good results. The follow-up 
system of correspondence pursued with steadfast insist- 
ence and frequent resort to the registered letter device 
brought good returns. A judicious and tactful insistence 
at all times, employing sharpness when sharpness was 
fitting, and consideration when consideration was due 
often brought payment even where hope of receiving any- 
thing had been abandoned. The real test, however, came 
in soliciting new funds. People are always reluctant to 
contribute to pay off an old score; in this instance the 
embarrassment of the solicitor was aggravated by the 

315 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

prevalent impression that the debt had actually been paid. 
It was a most trying task, requiring peculiar grit and 
perseverance, and yet a task that must be done and done 
once for all or the cause would suffer greatly; so Presi- 
dent Brooke set about it with a tenacity of purpose that 
knew no letting go until the desired end should be reached. 
President Brooke himself headed the list with $1,000. 
Father Jacob Gutshall followed with another $1,000. 
S. R. Lichtenwalter, always a true friend in times of need, 
gave $500 ; Hon. H. J. Stiger and Mrs. Emma Butler 
contributed like amounts. Other good friends gave in 
larger or smaller amounts. Still the task was a long and 
arduous one; a year slipped away and still the goal had 
not been reached. Toward the end of the first year, Rev. 
O. G. Mason was engaged as field secretary to assist in 
the canvass for money and also to aid in the campaign for 
students. January 1, 1910, found the whole amount 
pledged, and one month more saw all the pledges paid 
and all obligations against the College canceled. 

February 1, 1910, is another red-letter day in the cal- 
endar of Leander Clark College. On that day the notes 
and mortgages against the College were burned with 
appropriate ceremonies. The following paragraphs from 
President Brooke's account of the occasion are in place 
here: 

"With the College chapel packed to overflowing with 
hundreds of students. College officials, townspeople, and 
out-of-town visitors, amid the harmony of College songs 
and the deafening 'yells' of the students, all the old notes 
and mortgages, the last vestige of evidence of indebted- 
ness against Leander Clark College, went up in smoke this 
day from the torch applied by the hand of Hon. S. R. 
Lichtenwalter. Did I say all ? I must correct that state- 

316 



Another Preliminary Step 

ment. One note was not burned. It seemed almost 
sacrilegious to consign to the flames the Mary J. Spensley 
note. This note was given September 6, 1890, for 
$25,000. There had been partial payments made, leaving 
a balance of $10,500. It was signed by the following- 
named persons: J. S. Mills, M. S. Drury, A. M. Beal, 
B. M. Long, L. H. Bufkin, E. R. Smith, H. W. Ward, 
R. Shatto, J. A. Ward, H. J. Stiger, W. C. Smith, W. I. 
Beatty, E. F. Warren, W. S. Reese, William P. Soth, 
H. H. Withington, A. J. Wheaton, James Callahan, G. C. 
Wescott, C. A. Benson, M. Cole, Isaac Stauffer, R. L. 
Hegarty, J. A. Lichtenwalter, S. R. Lichtenwalter, I. K. 
Statton, D. H. Kurtz, J. S. McKee, E. B. Kephart, D. C 
Overholser, Emanuel Shope, W. F. Cronk, W. J. Ham, 
A. H. Shambaugh, and John Shambaugh. 

"There were thirty-five in all, fifteen of whom have 
passed away. It meant something to go under this load 
and help raise the fund to rebuild the College which had 
been destroyed by fire on Christmas night a few months 
before. So we had this note nicely framed, and it hangs 
as a memorial to these stalwart men who made this glad 
day possible by their heroic act almost twenty years ago. 
*Tt was a fitting close to the hard campaign inaugurated 
by the undersigned at the beginning of his administration 
eighteen months ago. There were but two planks put 
into our platform. First, *Run the very best College pos- 
sible on the income, and pay cash as we go.' Second, 
'Collect in on all the old notes and other assets of the 
College and gather enough new money by January 1, 1910, 
to pay off all the debts and stop the interest.' Both of 
these pledges were redeemed to-day, and Leander Clark 
College is absolutely free of debt." 

317 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

prevalent impression that the debt had actually been paid. 
It was a most trying task, requiring peculiar grit and 
perseverance, and yet a task that must be done and done 
once for all or the cause would suffer greatly; so Presi- 
dent Brooke set about it with a tenacity of purpose that 
knew no letting go until the desired end should be reached. 
President Brooke himself headed the list with $1,000. 
Father Jacob Gutshall followed with another $1,000. 
S. R. Lichtenwalter, always a true friend in times of need, 
gave $500; Hon. H. J. Stiger and Mrs. Emma Butler 
contributed like amounts. Other good friends gave in 
larger or smaller amounts. Still the task was a long and 
arduous one; a year slipped away and still the goal had 
not been reached. Toward the end of the first year, Rev. 
O. G. Mason was engaged as field secretary to assist in 
the canvass for money and also to aid in the campaign for 
students. January 1, 1910, found the whole amount 
pledged, and one month more saw all the pledges paid 
and all obligations against the College canceled. 

February 1, 1910, is another red-letter day in the cal- 
endar of Leander Clark College. On that day the notes 
and mortgages against the College were burned with 
appropriate ceremonies. The following paragraphs from 
President Brooke's account of the occasion are in place 
here: 

"With the College chapel packed to overflowing with 
hundreds of students, College officials, townspeople, and 
out-of-town visitors, amid the harmony of College songs 
and the deafening Veils' of the students, all the old notes 
and mortgages, the last vestige of evidence of indebted- 
ness against Leander Clark College, went up in smoke this 
day from the torch applied by the hand of Hon. S. R. 
Lichtenwalter. Did I say all ? I must correct that state- 

316 



Another Preliminary Step 

ment. One note was not burned. It seemed almost 
sacrilegious to consign to the flames the Mary J. Spensley 
note. This note was given September 6, 1890, for 
$25,000. There had been partial payments made, leaving 
a balance of $10,500. It was signed by the following- 
named persons: J. S. Mills, M. S. Drury, A. M. Beal, 
B. M. Long, L. H. Bufkin, E. R. Smith, H. W. Ward, 
R. Shatto, J. A. Ward, H. J. Stiger, W. C. Smith, W. I. 
Beatty, E. F. Warren, W. S. Reese, William P. Soth, 
H. H. Withington, A. J. Wheaton, James Callahan, G. C. 
Wescott, C. A. Benson, M. Cole, Isaac Stauffer, R. L. 
Hegarty, J. A. Lichtenwalter, S. R. Lichtenwalter, I. K. 
Statton, D. H. Kurtz, J. S. McKee, E. B. Kephart, D. C. 
Overholser, Emanuel Shope, W. F. Cronk, W. J. Ham, 
A. H. Shambaugh, and John Shambaugh. 

"There were thirty-five in all, fifteen of whom have 
passed away. It meant something to go under this load 
and help raise the fund to rebuild the College which had 
been destroyed by fire on Christmas night a few months 
before. So we had this note nicely framed, and it hangs 
as a memorial to these stalwart men who made this glad 
day possible by their heroic act almost twenty years ago. 
"It was a fitting close to the hard campaign inaugurated 
by the undersigned at the beginning of his administration 
eighteen months ago. There were but two planks put 
into our platform. First, 'Run the very best College pos- 
sible on the income, and pay cash as we go.* Second, 
'Collect in on all the old notes and other assets of the 
College and gather enough new money by January 1, 1910, 
to pay off all the debts and stop the interest.' Both of 
these pledges were redeemed to-day, and Leander Clark 
College is absolutely free of debt." 

317 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

A fuller account published in the Leander Clark Era 
shows what significance the older students attached to the 
occasion : 

"Many times has the old bell in the tower proclaimed 
glad tidings to the people of Toledo. Many times has its 
clear notes caused its supporters to feel the joy that makes 
the heart beat fast. Merrily and with unmistakable 
righteousness did it ring when the old debt was paid and 
again did its iron tongue peal forth the glad tidings of 
success in the endowment campaign. But never did it, 
or will it ring with such heartfelt tones as it did on last 
Tuesday morning, when it announced to the world that, 
after the heart-rending struggle of over half a century, 
Leander Clark College could face the world with a clear 
title, backed by the assertion of its indomitable president 
that 'Never as long as I shall serve the College, nor with 
my consent shall there be a dollar's indebtedness against 
the fair name of Leander Clark.' The tones of that old 
bell seemed like a benediction from those noble men so 
long departed, who gave the best part of their lives that 
this old College might have everlasting life. 

"With the ringing of the seven-thirty class bell on 
Tuesday morning the very spirit of freedom seemed to 
permeate the atmosphere. To us who have so long known 
the conditions the old school seemed different, as though a 
crushing weight had been lifted and at last it might inhale 
one long pure breath. 

"Every one was smiling, and as the students passed 
each other in the hallways there seemed to be a new spirit 
impelling them. Professors who have for years placed 
their faith in Leander Clark College seemed to have taken 
a new lease on life and acted accordingly. 

318 



Another Preliminary Step 

"The chapel room was beautifully decorated with pen- 
nants, and though the pennons of Iowa, Chicago, Michi- 
gan, and other great schools were there, that of Leander 
Clark seemed to dignify them by its presence. Never did 
it seem so beautiful as on this day when it could, for the 
first time, float untarnished before the eyes of men. And 
when we think of all that pennant stands for, our heads 
are bowed in reverence to those noble men and women 
who sacrificed so much that we might enjoy the blessings 
which they never knew. 

"After the invocation of Rev. Seese, and musical selec- 
tions by Professor Thickstun and the College Quartette, 
President Brooke introduced Hon. E. C. Ebersole, a 
former president of the institution, who rapidly reviewed 
the life of the College from its foundation to the present 
day, adding many incidents in passing to make plain the 
seriousness of the conditions. Mr. Ebersole has been one 
of the most helpful supporters of the school during its 
existence, and, being in close touch with it at all times, 
was well qualified to give its history. 

"Hon. H. J. Stiger then told of the 'Black Friday' of 
the institution, of how a band of serious, earnest-hearted 
men came some years ago to the office of his firm seeking 
a loan of $25,000 and how they got it. He said there were 
thirty-five men who signed the note, any one of whom was 
liable to the full amount of the note. And he modestly 
neglected to state that his own name was one of the 
thirty-five. 

"After a vocal solo by Miss Medlar, Major Leander 
Clark, our honored patron, was called on for a few re- 
marks, and as the old gentleman arose there rang through- 
out the room the yell, C-C-C-1-a-a-a-a-r-k, Clark. Major 
Clark then told how and why President Brooke had been 

319 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

secured, how the trustees had based their hopes on him as 
a financier, and how well he had justified their hopes. 
He moved a vote of confidence and esteem to the presi- 
dent, and after the vote had been taken, asked the 'young 
fellows to give a good yell for President Brooke.' Then 
the old building fairly shook. 

''President Brooke then produced a bundle of papers 
which proved to be the notes and mortgages which the 
College had been carrying for so long a time. He read 
all the notes, stating when and how they were given, and 
for what sum and purpose. They were then handed to 
Dean Ward who burned them in a crucible fixed up for 
that purpose, S. R. Lichtenwalter, for many years a 
staunch adherent of the College and a faithful trustee, 
applied the torch as Dean Ward dropped the notes a few 
at a time into the crematory. 

"One note alone was saved. It was the one on which 
those thirty-five brave men inscribed their names. To 
destroy it were sacrilege. With the marks of cancella- 
tion plainly visible on its face, it was framed and will 
hang on the walls of the ofiice as an eternal monument 
to guarantee its payment. 

"Another paper, a mortgage, was also burned, but before 
it was set on fire, Mr. Ebersole looked it over with the 
words 'I've helped support you for a long time, but this 
is the first time I have ever seen you,' and as he tossed it 
into the fire, 'May you have lots of company and no 
successors. Peace be to your ashes.' 

"J. M. R. Hanson took several pictures of the scene 
and they will appear in the '11 Cardinal. The Ladies' 
Glee Club rendered a musical selection, after which the 
audience fervently sang 'Alma Mater,' and were dismissed 
by Rev. Southard's benediction. 

320 





AUSTIA PATTERSON SHUMAKER 
First Missionary sent out from the College. 



REV. I. N. CAIN 
Leader of our Martyred Missionaries. 




MRS. I. N. CAIN 
Massacred in the Uprising of May 3, 1898. 



MARY ARCHER, M.D. 
One of our Martyred Missionaries. 



Another Preliminary Step 

''To new students and to those hearing of Leander 
Clark College for the first time, this occasion may mean 
very little, and it may seem to some that we are making 
a great deal of fuss over so small a circumstance. But 
to us it appears in a different light. It means that the 
goal toward which the College has been struggling for 
fifty-four years has at last been reached. It means a new 
birth for the school, a new lease on life. From now on 
the College may grow and enlarge, whereas before it had 
to fight hard to keep even with the world. 

"It means that more buildings and more endowment 
will come to increase the sphere of usefulness of Leander 
Clark College. It means that the faith of the founders 
of the school has been vindicated, and that the judgment 
of those who have controlled its destinies has been com- 
pletely justified. It means more students and better 
equipment, and a thousand other things which can be 
more easily thought of than written. 

"What the future holds for us we cannot tell, but we 
believe that the signs all point to a larger and greater 
Leander Clark College, and again we say, 'Gloria in 
Excelsis Deo.' " 

A few words regarding the internal life of the school 
will not be amiss here. The years since the securing of 
the endowment have been years of substantial growth in 
every way. The creation of the Chair of Education and 
the establishment of the Directorship of Athletics have 
already been recorded and some mention has been made 
of added equipment. Other extensive additions have 
been made to the library and to the equipment of the 
various laboratories. The interior of the Administration 
Building has been improved and beautified ; the remodel- 

321 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

ing of rooms for the Business College and the adorning 
of the chapel add greatly both to the utility and to the 
appearance of the building. 

Never in the history of the College has there been so 
enthusiastic and loyal a student body, and never so strong 
a feeling of assurance among trustees and alumni. There 
has been in the past a conscious purpose to make the work 
of the College genuinely meritorious in all that is under- 
taken; now that purpose is reinforced by a renewed 
hopefulness and sense of permanency. There is a deeper 

sense of oneness in the whole life of the institution 

past, present, and future — and a closer feeling of fellow- 
ship among all who at any time have been admitted into 
the great College family. The demand for a history such 
as this proves that there is a new awakening to the sacred- 
ness of College traditions and a growing sense of pride in 
all that belongs to the family story. Particularly are the 
alumni rallying around the institution as never before, 
loyal and true though they have ever been.. 

The feeling of unity in the present student body is 
cultivated most perhaps by those activities that bring the 
College into close relations with other colleges ; these are 
primarily intercollegiate athletic contests and contests in 
oratory and debate. 

In athletic relations there has been much advancement 
in recent years. Owing mainly to better local control in 
the matter of eligibility to membership on the various 
teams, and especially to an efficient system of training, 
the College gained sufficient standing and dignity to be 
admitted to a place on the schedules of some of the best 
colleges in the State. This tends to create a higher 
degree of College patriotism. Locally, athletics are being 
more and more utilized, not only as a safety valve for 

322 



Another Preliminary Step 

surplus vitality, but also as a powerful incentive to 
scholarship, and, indeed, as an educational value in them- 
selves. 

The largest student activity in recent years — student 
activity referring to those side interests that lie apart 
from the stated exercises of the class room and literary 
hall — is perhaps in the line of public speaking. Trustees, 
faculty, and alumni have united to stimulate interest in 
forensic matters. The College had for many years been 
a member of the State Oratorical Association and held 
local contests preliminary to those of the State; occasional 
intercollegiate debates had also been held, but these were 
somewhat haphazard, each contest being usually planned 
by itself and within the season in which the contest was 
to occur. Now a Forensic League with a permanent 
organization has been formed to promote interest in ora- 
tory and debate. The secretary of the league is a 
member of the College faculty and his chief duty, aside 
from the routine work of his department, is to promote 
the interests for which the league stands. Under the 
direction of the Forensic Council a series of triangular 
intercollegiate and interacademic debates has been organ- 
ized extending over a period of years, and local contests 
with prizes attached have been devised to stimulate sus- 
tained and systematic preparation. 

The religious life of the College has always been 
earnest and strong, though more pronounced at certain 
periods than at others. In the earlier days there was a 
close relation between the College and the local church, 
and special times of spiritual awakening in the church 
were felt deeply among the students. The tendency in 
later times to multiply organizations within both church 
and College, and to specialize effort within narrow fields 

323 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

has somewhat separated spiritual activity in the College 
from that of the church, and has centered the religious 
life of the former about the Christian Association. These 
associations are seldom without strong leadership, and 
under such leadership are always a power for righteous- 
ness in the life of the College. 

Another new element in the very recent life of the 
College is the working out of a more complete and com- 
prehensive system of administration both in internal 
management and in business affairs. As now organized 
the faculty works on the principle of specialization in 
administration as in teaching; each has his special "stunt" 
assigned. One concentrates upon the forensic interests 
of the College, another upon directing the athletic activi- 
ties of the students, another upon securing positions for 
graduates, and still others upon other interests. The 
same person is kept in charge of the same interest from 
year to year, and works in accordance with a definite 
policy that looks forward to permanent results. 

The business of the College has at last reached bed- 
rock banking methods. Transactions now may require 
some red tape, but they are cautious and orderly. The 
office knows at any time just how the business of the 
College stands. Readily accessible files of all transactions 
and correspondence are in neat completeness. The whole 
business policy of the institution looks toward solidity and 
soundness. 

The close of the scholastic year 1909-1910 witnessed 
the first Quadrennial Celebration and Home Coming. 
This was four years after the great Semi-Centennial and 
will, it is hoped, inaugurate the custom of making every 
fourth year a special home coming and time of rejoicing. 
At this first celebration, graduates and old students 

324 



Another Preliminary Step 

flocked back in great numbers and friends came from near 
and far to join in the festivities. 

On Baccalaureate Sunday, Rev. A. E. Wright, of 
Chicago, preached a masterful sermon that set a high 
standard of excellence for the other programs of the 
week. On Monday, visitors were taken on an automobile 
ride to the Indian School and Indian Camp; in the even- 
ing the literary societies held their usual banquets and 
reunions, but with more than the usual amount of mingled 
mirth and pathos. On Tuesday the old students held a 
campfire under the leadership of J. A. Shuey, '65. On 
Wednesday occurred the quadrennial program proper. 

This program was historical in nature and presented 
characteristic events and periods in the life of the Col- 
lege. Hon. E. C. Ebersole, LL.D., of Toledo, spoke of 
"Our Founder," the address being a tribute to the first 
president of the College, Rev. Solomon Weaver. Mr. 
Jacob A. Shuey, '65, of Red Oak, Iowa, spoke with feel- 
ing and appreciation on the theme, "Early Teachers" ; he 
paid tribute especially to Professors S. S. Dillman, M. W. 
Bartlett, and E. C. Ebersole. Mrs. S. J. Staves, of Des 
Moines, Iowa, whose intimate acquaintance with Western 
began before the first building was finished and lasted 
through all the early years, spoke tenderly and personally 
of the "Early Days," and with her fund of intimate mem- 
ories gave the later generation a close glimpse at those 
older times. Captain E. B. Soper, of Emmetsburg, Iowa, 
one of the first students of Western to enlist in the Union 
Army, discussed the subject, "In War Times"; from his 
thorough familiarity with those times he was able to give 
his hearers a much more adequate impression than they 
already possessed of the large share Western College had 
in the Civil War. "The Dawn of a New Era" was as- 

3?5 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

sighed to the Rev. J. H. Albert, D.D., 75, of Faribault, 
Minnesota, the ''New Era" being the period covered by 
the administration of President E. B. Kephart; Doctor 
Albert spoke of the steadfast and lofty purpose mani- 
fested by the College throughout those days, and the 
striving for substantial attainments, the paramount aim 
of all being the making of character. "The Days of 
Beardshear" was the theme of the Rev. C. M. Brooke, 
D.D., '86, of Stillwater, Oklahoma, one who as student 
and alumnus knew the period thoroughly; he paid fitting 
tribute to the great personality of President Beardshear 
and the large undertakings of the College during that 
period. To the Rev. W. I. Beatty, D.D., 76, of Elk 
Point, South Dakota, was given the subject, ''Entering 
the Promised Land," a most fortunate assignment as 
Doctor Beatty had shared with the College the long, 
depressing Wilderness wanderings through increasing 
debts and multiplied discouragements, and was one of the 
faithful found worthy to enter the promised land of can- 
celed debts and a solid endowment ; he closed his address 
with the following poem, in which he happily contrasts 
a dark period of the past with the full sunlight of the 
present : 

THEN AND NOW. 

Then— 1894. 

Western College is the cry, 
Joyful note, just let it fly, 
As a pean in the sky, 
Western College shall not die. 

Sing, ye patriot workers, sing. 
Make the mighty welkin ring, 

326 



Another Preliminary Step 

Send through all the land the cry. 
Western College shall not die. 

Sing aloud the battle cry, 
Make it reach the very sky, 
By the throne that is on high. 
Western College shall not die. 

Now— 1910. 
O Western College did not die ! 
She gathered strength to reach the sky. 
She burst the bonds that chafe and fret, 
And threw aside her galling debt. 

The God of battles won her fight, 
And let see a glorious light; 
The streams of wealth he turned her way. 
And ushered in the brighter day. 

As Jacob changed to Is-ra-el, 
When from his heart the burden fell. 
So, Western with a mighty plea. 
Changed her name to L. C. C. 

Her bridal robes she now doth wear. 
And of her peers there's none more fair ; 
But, while honest work is still her aim, 
Her old traditions she'll maintain. 

Great God ! with hope we look to thee. 
And make for us this earnest plea : 
May coming ages find us still 
Submissive to thy holy will ! 

327 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

The alumni program and banquet on Wednesday even- 
ing also partook of the Quadrennial Celebration spirit. 
The large hall of the College gymnasium had been most 
fittingly decorated and served admirably for a banquet 
hall. Here about two hundred alumni and their guests 
gathered to participate in probably the largest and most 
successful banquet and reunion in the histor}^ of the asso- 
ciation. C. R. Shatto, '90, served as toastmaster. Music 
was furnished by the old Philo and Callie quartets. Dr. 

E. R. Smith, '86, responded to the toast, "The Old 
Guard," in which he spoke of the devotion and gallant 
courage of the men who established Western College 
and carried her safely through her early conflicts. Dr. 

F. E. Kaufifman, '94, in a most characteristic vein, ans- 
wered to the toast, "Alumni Patriotism" ; he told how the 
visit of President Beardshear first aroused a country 
boy's dormant hero worship and then awakened a yearn- 
ing for something that gradually defined itself as a college 
education ; of how that boy following the inner yearning, 
finally went to college and there experienced a new life 
full of human kindness and the fruits of consecrated 
human intelligence, a life that still draws him back peri- 
odically for a renewal of his spirit. Miss Ada Meyers, 
'10, represented "The Recruit," and presented herself and 
her classmates for membership in the devoted family of 
sons and daughters who revere the name of Leander 
Clark. Judge U. S. Guyer, '94, standing at that point 
in the week's program that turned from the backward 
look at the way already traversed and set the gaze stead- 
ily toward the future, pleaded eloquently for "A Greater 
Leander Clark." President Brooke followed in the same 
strain, showing that the College had met all the obliga- 
tions imposed by the past and is now facing the new 

328 



Another Preliminary Step 

and larger obligations of the future, the chief of which 
are additional endowment and greatly enlarged equip- 
ment. He laid before the association a plan for raising 
a special "Alumni Endowment Fund" as part of the 
general forward movement, a plan which all the members 
present heartily approved. 

President George McA. Miller and Adeline Dickman 
Miller, of Ruskin College, both of '81, unable to be pres- 
ent in person, sent greetings in the following form : 

ALUMNI GREETINGS TO LEANDER CLARK COLLEGE. 

Lovely art thou, Alma Mater, with maternal hopes and 

fears. 
Easily the weight thou bearest of thy four and fifty years ; 
All thy sons and daughters greet thee from their wide 

divergent ways, 
Near and far they join the chorus in thy well-deserved 

praise. 

Daring life's heroic challenge, "Who will strive unto the 

end?" 
Each as light the path has pointed, forth has gone the 

dykes to mend; 
Rightly knowing that the ocean of iniquity and wrong 
Can't be conquered by a sermon; neither conjured by a 

song. 

Learning that alone by doing will their work on earth be 

done, 
And by playing, saying, praying, it is only well begun ; 
Roused by Launfal's vivid vision of the blessed "Holy 

Grail," 
Keeping pure life's gushing fountain, "strength of ten" 

spells, "never fail." 

329 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

Ever forth at beck of duty, under providence — not fate — 
Calls of church and school and forum, factory, mart, and 

home, and State, 
Over all appeals of mammon, calling deftly to the Me, 
Loud have rung and brought quick heeding e'en from 

lands beyond the sea. 

Lest we err by faint forgetting of the ones who by the 

way. 
E'en from realms beyond our vision, heard the call all 

must obey. 
Greetings e'en from them may cheer thee, Alma Mater 

of the blest ; 
E'en to strenuous us suggesting, "All may enter into rest." 

From George McA. and Adeline Dickman 
Miller, with fond memories of ''Old West- 
ern" and as a tribute from the Class of '8i. 
Ruskin, Florida, June 3, 1910. 

This record of the First Quadrennial Celebration would 
be incomplete without some account of the special exer- 
cises of commencement day. The novel feature of the 
day was holding the exercises in the great pavilion and 
on the grounds of the Central Iowa Chautauqua Asso- 
ciation, and having as the speaker of the day a man of 
such wide fame as Joseph W. Folk, of Missouri. The 
day opened cloudy, following heavy rains the preceding 
evening; yet the large pavilion was nearly filled with in- 
terested citizens of Toledo and Tama and surrounding 
country. Two bands furnished music for the occasion. 
The address of Governor Folk was inspiring with its 
plea for a purer citizenship and a quickened public con- 
science. A large senior class, surpassed in number but 

330 



Another Preliminary Step 

once in the history of the College, was graduated. Presi- 
dent Brooke announced the forward movement authorized 
by the Board of Trustees and inaugurated the first part 
of the movement — the securing of new endowment — ^by 
announcing a pledge of $25,000 to that fund by a donor 
who wished his name withheld. 

Thus another milestone on the upward journey of the 
College was reached and passed. The faces of all are 
now set steadfastly toward the future, and interest grows 
intense as to what the new few years have in store. The 
key word for the immediate future is, "Enlargement, en- 
larged endowment, enlarged equipment, and enlarged pat- 
ronage." Courage and hope attend the forward look; 
under the splendid leadership of President Brooke ex- 
j^ectation runs high. 



331 



Chapter XIV. 

A CHAPTER OF MISCELLANY. COEDUCATION. COL- 
LEGE PUBLICATIONS. ORGANIZATIONS. MISSIONARIES. 
TRANSPORTATION. MATERIAL EQUIPMENT. 

It seems desirable at this point to devote a chapter to 
the consideration of some miscellaneous topics closely re- 
lated to the life of the College and not yet adequately 
treated in this history. 

At the very first the College v^as organized as a coedu- 
cational institution; it was the intention of the fathers 
to give equal advantages to their sons and daughters. For 
a number of years a distinct "ladies' course" was main- 
tained, differing from the courses offered to men in that 
it omitted higher mathematics, philosophy, and ancient 
languages; a "Principal of the Female Department" was 
an indispensable member of the faculty for many years. 
Finally, in 1875, the ladies' course was dropped from the 
catalogue and women were admitted to identical courses 
with the men and received the same degrees. Then, in 
1881, the so-called "Female Department" was abandoned 
and the principal of that department was assigned to a 
regular College chair. Emily L. Dillman was principal 
from 1857 to 1860. She was succeeded in order by 
Frances Spencer, Hester A. Hillis, Emma Neidig, Emma 
Guitner, Sarah Jane Surran, Amelia B. Grove, Mary 
Louise Hopwood, and Anna Shuey, the last-named hold- 
ing the position until 1881, at which time the department 
was discarded and Miss Shuey was made Professor of 
Mathematics. 



A Chapter of Miscellany 

COLLEGE PUBLICATIONS. 

The first publication in the interest of the College was 
the Western College Advocate and Miscellaneous Maga- 
zine, a monthly periodical edited and published by Rev. 
Solomon Weaver and Capt. W. H. Shuey. The first 
number was issued in July, 1856. The character and 
history of the paper have been presented at length already 
in the body of this history. One year after the first 
issue the Board of Trustees of the College, with the 
hearty concurrence of the editors and proprietors, took 
charge of the Advocate and made it ofificially what it had 
already been in reality, the organ of the College. The 
Advocate continued to be published in magazine form 
until 1859, at which time the College purchased a press, 
changed the name to Western College Reporter, and 
began issuing it semi-monthly in quarto form. During 
part of the Civil War period it was published weekly as 
a folio sheet. The paper contained general news, 
especially war news, and of^cial information regarding the 
College, such as lists of officers and faculty, courses of 
study, and at the end of the year a catalogue of students. 
In the early seventies the name was once more changed, 
this time to Western Gazette, and its publication was con- 
tinued intermittently until the latter part of 1874, at which 
time the trustees decided to abandon the attempt to pub- 
lish an official paper, and sold the printing office and press 
to private parties. During most of its career the official 
paper was most creditable both in matter and form, and 
the service it rendered to the College would be hard to 
over-estimate. 

In 1875, Mr. Ralph Shatto purchased the College press, 
and as a private enterprise began issuing a weekly news- 
paper, called the Western Light. The creed of the new 

333 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

paper, as announced in the first issue, was : "In politics, 
Republican ; in religion, the doctrines laid down in the 
Discipline of the United Brethren Church ; in service, the 
highest interests of Western College" ; the Western Light 
thus continued to be the mouthpiece of the College. Mr. 
Shatto published his paper in Western until after the 
removal of the College ; he pleaded earnestly but reason- 
ably against removal, remained behind one year, and then 
sold out and followed the College to Toledo, there to 
spend the remainder of his days in the shadow of the 
institution whose welfare he had long promoted. 

The earliest catalogue in pamphlet form that can be 
found bears the date of 1867-8. Since that time, with the 
possible exception of 1868-69, (no catalogue of that date 
has been found for the College files) the catalogue has 
been issued annually at or near the close of the College 
year. In the issue of the Western College Advocate 
for June, 1858, the end of the first full College year, is 
found a fair substitute for a catalogue. It gives as coop- 
erating conferences, Des Moines, Iowa, Rock River, 
and Illinois. The Executive Committee are J. E. Bower- 
sox, W. H. Shuey, S. S. Dillman, Wm. Parmenter, and 
Jacob Berger. The faculty consisted of Rev. Solomon 
Weaver, President; Wm. Parmenter, A.M., M.D., Pro- 
fessor of Mathematics and Physiology ; M. W. Bartlett, 
A.M., Professor of Ancient Languages; S. S. Dillman, 
Professor of Agriculture and Natural Science ; Mrs. E. L. 
Dillman, Principal of the Ladies' Department. This was 
the first regular faculty. The summary of students is: 
Men, 69; women, 22; total, 91. Similar catalogues seem 
to have been published in the College paper at the close 
of each school year, though the only other issue of that 

334 



A Chapter of Miscellany 

kind preserved is the Western College Reporter, June 15, 
1864. 

A year or two after the College was located at Toledo, 
a small paper, the Teacher and Student, was issued joint- 
ly by the County Superintendent of Tama County and by 
the students of Western College. Then, in March, 1886, 
the Toledo Collegian was established as the official organ 
of the College. It was a quarterly publication and con- 
tained College news and announcements, with more or 
less of the literary output of the College. It continued 
to be published until the crisis of 1893. 

The next attempt to establish a College newspaper was 
a new departure in the fact that the enterprise was con- 
ceived and carried out wholly by a group of students as 
part of their literary society activities. In April, 1896, 
appeared the first number of the College Era, a monthly 
pamphlet published by the Philophronean Literary 
Society and devoted to general College news, as well as the 
interests of the society in whose name it was published. 
It continued to be published until 1902, and then, at the 
solicitation of the other literary societies of the College, 
all were admitted to a share in the management of the 
paper, and the name was changed to Western Cardinal. 
Under the new name the paper was published for about 
two years and then ceased. A year or two later the 
Philophronean Society again began issuing a paper, this 
time as the Leander Clark Era, a weekly, giving special 
prominence to College news. The paper is still published 
each week of the school year. 

About the time that the Era was reestablished the 
Young Men's Institute began publishing the Owl, a 
bi-monthly combining the news idea with a more distinctly 
literary purpose. The Owl and the Era, edited and pub- 

335 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

lished wholly by students, reflect student sentiment and 
record the numerous happenings in connection with the 
various student activities of the College. 

With the securing of the endowment, in January, 1906, 
the College began the publication of the Bulletin, a quar- 
terly devoted to official news and announcements. The 
April number each year comprises the annual catalogue. 
The Bulletin is the systematic means of communication 
between the College and its constituency. Through it an 
effort is made to keep in constant touch with alumni, old 
students, ministers in the cooperating territory, and 
friends of the College. 

The latest, and in point of elegance and mechanical 
finish, the most pretentious of the publications connected 
with the College, is the Cardinal, the annual edited and 
published by the Junior Class in the spring of each year. 
The first attempt to start a Junior Annual was the West- 
ern Breeze, issued in 1903 by the class of '04. The Breeze 
created quite a stir, yet no other annual was undertaken 
until the Cardinal was launched permanently in 1909. 
The Cardinal is a volume of more than two hundred 
pages, splendidly bound and lettered in gold, printed on 
the best of paper, and copiously illustrated with almost 
two hundred half-tone cuts, the very acme of the printer's 
art. The aim of the volume is to give a resume of the 
doings of the entire institution for the year. Wit, humor, 
history, prophesy, song, and story, beautifully illustrated 
throughout, combine to make the Cardinal the brightest 
and most sought-after publication sent out by the College. 

COLLEGE ORGANIZATIONS. 

The Board of Trustees and Executive Committee, con- 
stituting the necessary and permanent representatives of 

336 



A Chapter of Miscellany 

the corporate body, were, or course, organized at the very 
first, even in fact before the College could be brought into 
existence. The first organization within the College was 
the Theological Association, which, with an enrollment of 
forty members, flourished greatly during the first few 
years of the College. The purpose of the association was 
partly literary and partly theological. It met regularly 
and rendered formal programs, mainly on moral and 
religious subjects. 

Societies for distinctly literary training were early or- 
ganized, but owing partly to the fact that the school was 
still in the experimental stage and feeling its way, and 
partly to the fact that the societies, for years, having no 
halls of their own, were compelled to meet in ordinary 
recitation rooms, the organizations were at first naturally 
somewhat unstable. The oldest permanent literary so- 
ciety in the institution is the Young Men's Institute, or- 
ganized in 1857. Its long history is a record of creditable 
achievement. At present it occupies a large artistically 
decorated hall, elegantly refurnished in 1906. The Phil- 
adelphian Society flourished in the early days of the 
school, but was dissolved in the early part of 1860. Some 
three years later the Nestorian was formed, but it wa's 
short-lived. Some time afterward came the Irving In- 
stitute, changed, in 1869, to the present Philophronean 
Society ; the change of name was made when the attempt 
to incorporate under the laws of the State revealed the 
fact that there was already an Irving Institute incorpor- 
ated in the State. The society has continued to the 
present day an energetic force in the literary and social 
life of the College. The Philo hall is a large, commo- 
dious room, finished in California redwood, elegantly fur- 
nished, well lighted and ventilated. The second oldest 

337 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

society is the Calliopean, a society for young women. It 
was founded in 1859, but had a rather precarious exist- 
ence until 1867, at which time the society was thoroughly 
reorganized under the guidance of Miss Emma Guitner, 
then a teacher in the College. Since then the society has 
been active and prosperous; it cultivates musical as well 
as literary taste. Since 1889 the society has occupied its 
own hall, spacious and beautifully furnished. A second 
society for young women, the Young Ladies' Athenaeum, 
was organized in May, 1880. It has been prosperous 
from the beginning; emphasis is laid upon literary work. 
Its large, well furnished hall is comfortably located in the 
southwest corner of the Administration Building. Within 
the College year 1896-7 there was organized from each 
of the two men's societies a new society composed of such 
present and future members as had not reached fresh- 
man rank in the College. The preparatory society thus 
formed from the Philophronean was the Alphanean Soci- 
ety; that from the Young Men's Institute was called the 
Cyclomathean Society. For a few years they maintained 
separate organizations and met on separate evenings, the 
College societies on Friday evenings and the preparatory 
societies on Thursday evenings. For some years, how- 
ever, Philophroneans and Alphaneans, on the one hand, 
and Young Men's Institute and Cyclomatheans, on the 
other, have been meeting and conducting their affairs 
jointly as if no separation had occurred. 

The graduates of only two departments of the College 
maintain permanent organizations; these are the Col- 
lege of Liberal Arts and the Conservatory of Music. The 
Alumni Association was organized temporarily in 1870, 
permanently in 1874. The membership consists of grad- 
uates from the College of Liberal Arts, and now numbers 

338 



A Chapter of Miscellany 

351. The annual business meeting of the association 
occurs on the day preceding commencement, and is fol- 
lowed by the anniversary and banquet. As the years pass 
the alumni are proving increasingly helpful to the work 
of the College. The Association was first given repre- 
sentation on the Board of Trustees in 1875 ; it is now 
entitled to six representatives on the Board. The Con- 
servatory Alumnal Association was first organized in 
1889 and reorganized in June, 1906. It consists of grad- 
uates of the Conservatory of Music. Its purpose is to 
promote and perpetuate friendship among its members 
and to enlarge the work and efficiency of the Conser- 
vatory. 

A Young Men's Christian Association was organized in 
Western College in the fall of 1881. Mr. L. D. Wishard 
was then visiting the colleges of Iowa and organizing 
associations wherever he could arouse sufficient interest. 
Western took hold of the movement with zeal. At first 
there seems to have been no separate organization for 
young women; the officers of the first association were: 
President, T. H. Studebaker; secretary, Miss Middle- 
kauff. Not long after a Young Woman's Christian Asso- 
ciation was formed, and both societies have continued to 
this day active and earnest, the center of the religious life 
of the College. Both maintain weekly devotional meet- 
ings and classes for Bible and mission study. Delegates 
are sent annually to the State Convention and heavy con- 
tributions are made toward the support of the State work. 
During recent years the associations have sent chosen 
representatives to the summer conference of Christian 
workers at Lake Geneva. A Volunteer Band as part 
of the general Student Volunteer Movement for Foreign 
Missions was organized about 1889. It is made up of 

339 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

members of the Y. M. C. A. and Y. W. C. A. who have 
the avowed purpose, if God permit, of becoming foreign 
missionaries. Meetings are held once a week to deepen 
spiritual life and to study missionary problems. 

In the early days of the College there was no thought 
of a general organization to direct the athletic activities 
of the institution. Perhaps the first effective move in 
that direction was in the later eighties when the Y. M. 
C. A. was given control of the athletic grounds and in 
large measure of College sports also. Soon afterward a 
student organization was formed and it controlled ath- 
letics for many years. This organization was reorganized 
from time to time, its scope of influence enlarged, and 
its membership increased to include representatives from 
the faculty and from the alumni. Lastly, in harmony 
with the general practice among Iowa colleges, a perma- 
nent athletic committee, composed of members elected by 
the faculty and by the Alumni Association, has general 
direction of all athjetic activities recognized by the Col- 
lege. 

Even in the early days the College had an Oratorical 
Association, at least intermittently. The State Oratorical 
Contest was naturally the great inducement for maintain- 
ing a local association. Consequently during the years 
that Western did not hold membership in the State Asso- 
ciation there was no local organization. For the last twelve 
or fifteen years an active association has been maintained, 
its energies being directed almost wholly toward compe- 
tition in the State Contest. In the spring of 1909 the 
Oratorical Association was superseded by the Forensic 
League, a larger organization comprising the whole stu- 
dent body and the faculty. The league promotes all 
departments of forensic endeavor — oratorical contests, 

340 



A Chapter of Miscellany 

both State and local, and debates, both intercollegiate and 
interacademic. 

TRANSPORTATION. 

One of the strongest arguments in favor of moving the 
College from Western was based upon the inadequacy of 
transportation facilities. For a number of years, after 
the College was planted on the prairie, the quickest com- 
munication with the outside world was by stage coach to 
Cedar Rapids some eight miles away. The stage made 
one trip a day and under favorable conditions required 
two or three hours for the journey. When the way was 
blocked with snow drifts, or when the bottom fell out 
of the roads during the spring thaws, the journey became 
impossible. Later, when a railroad came within three 
miles of Western, the transportation problem was some- 
what easier, but was still far from being solved. Three 
miles overland is not a very serious matter in good 
weather, but is quite serious under the worst conditions. 
When the College first came to Toledo the Northwestern 
had just completed its branch road from Tama through 
Toledo and was running one train a day each way. This 
was better than entire dependence on the hack line at old 
Western, but was far from being adequate. The main 
lines of the Northwestern and of the Chicago, Milwaukee 
& St. Paul railroads passed through Tama two and a half 
miles from the College. In order to reach most of the 
important trains on these roads it was for years necessary 
to make the trip to Tama by the hack. The road between 
Toledo and Tama seemed specially devised to ruin the 
temper of a hack driver and crush the hopes of pas- 
sengers; there were numerous lodging places for impass- 
able snow drifts in winter and there were bottomless 

341 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

ravines in spring time. Old students remember with 
painful vividness some of those overland trips and the 
disappointment of arriving twenty minutes too late — if 
fortunate enough to arrive at all; they will remember 
with some compensation of amusement the familiar and 
striking figure of the driver, Mike Boyle, and the volley 
of picturesque and effective language he turned loose on 
every suitable occasion. Not until the completion of the 
Tama and Toledo Electric Railway, in 1894, was the 
College made really accessible to its distant constituency. 
Now with four or more trains daily on the branch line 
through town, and two great main lines with superb and 
frequent service only two and a half miles away, and 
that distance covered in ten minutes by electric cars pass- 
ing every forty minutes within one block of the campus, 
transportation facilities are much like those of a city 
suburb. 

MISSIONARIES. 

Perhaps the earliest missionary influence among the 
students of Western College emanated from Miss Hester 
A. Hillis. Miss Hillis left her position in the College in 
1867 to take up mission work in Ceylon ; on her return, 
some twelve years later, she lectured on missions in a 
certain United Brethren Church, and afterwards solicited 
Austia Patterson to return with her as a foreign mission- 
ary. That was the beginning of the influence that made 
Austia Patterson a foreign missionary, and that incident- 
ally opened the mission work of the Church later in 
China. The first missionary awakening that came to the 
whole student community resulted from a visit of Rev. J. 
Gomer, pioneer missionary of the Church in Africa. 
Though missionary zeal among the students was greatly 

342 



A Chapter of Miscellany 

quickened by the addresses of Brother Gomer and Doctor 
Flickinger, zeal was not crystaHzed into personal action 
until some years after the school was established at 
Toledo. In the later eighties, John R. Mott paid a visit 
to the College and aroused interest to such a degree that 
the students resolved to support a foreign missionary. 
They asked the Woman's Board to cooperate, selected 
Austia Patterson to be their representative, and suggested 
China, India, or Japan as a field of operations. She 
accepted, chose China as her field, and has been identified 
with the mission work of the Church among the Chinese 
directly or indirectly ever since. About the same time, 
Miss Halverson, formerly a student in Western College, 
took up mission work in China. She served a few years 
as a missionary and then married a Chinaman, perhaps to 
exert a greater influence in bringing up her three children 
in an atmosphere of Christian ideals. Western College 
has sent numerous recruits for the work in China, both 
that of the United Brethren Church in and near Canton, 
and that of other churches in other parts of the Empire. 
Mr. and Mrs. E. B. Ward went out in 1897 and have been 
in the work since, except necessary furloughs at home. 
Mr. and Mrs. E. E. Fix joined the Canton workers in 
1893 for two years, returning only on account of Mrs. 
Fix's health. Mr. and Mrs. E. I. Doty went in 1903 for 
five years of service. Mr. J. R. Trindle went in 1901 
as private tutor in the family of the statesman. Hi Lung 
Chang; later he entered the mission work of the Metho- 
dist Church in Northern China, in which work he was 
joined by Miss Josie Newland, who was married to Mr. 
Trindle on her arrival in China. Mr. and Mrs. Trindle 
recently spent a year in America on furlough, returning 

343 



r- Western — Leander-Clark Collegr "" 

to China in the autumn of 1910. Mr. Frank Field went 
to China about 1903, under direction of the Presbyterian 
Board; at the present writing he is still at his post as 
Principal of the Tsining Boys' School, Shantung, China. 
It happened that the first missionaries sent by Western 
College went to China, and further that the total sent to 
China — eight who were graduates at the time of their 
going and four who had been students for considerable 
periods — was greater than that sent to any other field; 
yet Africa, partly because its mission work was older, and 
hence better known in earlier days, and partly because of 
the martyr blood furnished by the College for that field, 
has claimed even more of serious concern and heart-felt 
interest from students and authorities. Mr. and Mrs. 
I. N. Cain were the first to go directly from the College to 
Africa. They went out in 1892 and stayed a four-year 
term; then, after a year in America, during which time 
they completed an advanced course in the College, they 
returned to Africa, and the next spring, together with 
other martyr missionaries, fell in the awful uprising of 
natives. May 3, 1898. With the Cains on that fatal day 
was Dr. Mary Archer, formerly a student at Western. 
Mr. A. A. Ward, also a student and later a graduate, 
escaped the fate of that dreadful day by mere chance of 
having been sent to Freetown for supplies, the only one 
of the seven missionaries stationed at Rotifunk not called 
upon to give his blood for the redemption of Africa. Of 
those who, after the massacre, went to build again upon 
the ruins, Mr. E. E. Todd was first on the field; he has 
passed on to his reward. Miss Rilla Aikin went a little 
later, served her term, and came home to regain her 
health; she is now the wife of Rev. H. D. Southard. 

344 



A Chapter of Miscellany 

Miss Angle Aikin went to 1904, served one term, and, 
after a short furlough, is completing her second term in 
Africa. Mr. and Mrs. H. T. Miller went over in 1905, 
he to take charge of the industrial work at Rotifunk, she 
to teach in the mission school ; they finished one term of 
service, and after but a few months' furlough returned to 
take charge of the industrial school at Shenge. 

A later field for mission work was found after the 
Spanish-American War. Mr. and Mrs. P. W. Drury 
have taken a leading part in the mission work undertaken 
by the Church in Porto Rico. They went out first in 
1901 and are still at work, having taken only short inter- 
vals for needed recuperation. 

In another department of missionary endeavor, that of 
education in foreign lands, students of Western have 
taken an honorable part. Mr. W. M. Zumbro was ap- 
pointed by the American Board as Missionary to the 
Madura Field in 1894, and, with the exception of one 
year on furlough, has since been teacher in the Mission 
College of Madura, and is now president of the institu- 
tion. Mr. A. A. Ward served two years under the Amer- 
ican Board as teacher in Jaffua College, Ceylon; he is 
now engaged in educational work under the same Board 
in Tellippalai, Ceylon. 

If we add to the above list the names of Miss Anna 
Fulcomer, who lost her life while a missionary among 
the Indians in Alaska, and Miss Grace Holstead, who for 
a time was missionary among the Sac and Fox Indians in 
Iowa, and the large number who have been home mission- 
aries, it will be seen that Western-Leander Clark College 
has not been disobedient to the command to preach the 
gospel to every creature. 

345 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

MATERIAL EQUIPMENT. 

As has been the case with practically all denominational 
colleges, Western began with the most meager and 
primitive equipment. Land was cheap and consequently 
supplied the most abundant part of the early material 
equipment. The original campus contained seventeen 
acres ; in addition the College owned the town site, besides 
a farm, a timber tract, and other lands. In all the days 
at old Western, the College succeeded in erecting three 
buildings — a large, plain brick building for school pur- 
poses and two frame buildings of moderate proportions 
intended for dormitories. All the buildings were heated 
with wood stoves and lighted — if at all — with kerosene 
lamps. Scientific equipment and library were almost 
wholly wanting for many years. When Professor I. L. 
Kephart came, in 1871, as teacher of science, he went 
before the Board with an urgent plea for scientific appa- 
ratus and was authorized to spend fifty dollars for such 
equipment. About the same time books enough were 
secured to justify the appointment of a librarian. In 
the most flourishing days at Western the entire plant 
was valued at about thirty thousand dollars ; when the col- 
lege was removed the non-portable property was sold for 
about three thousand. 

At Toledo all plans — except regarding land — were laid 
out on a much larger scale. The first building was not 
only large and admirably suited to its purposes, but also 
dignified and beautiful in architectural design and fitting 
ornamentation, one of the best college buildings of its 
day in Iowa. Equipment, however, was still compara- 
tively meager. The main building was heated with stoves 
until the time of the fire, in 1889; before the fire a 
respectable chemical laboratory, a fair library, and a supe^. 

346 



A Chapter of Miscellany 

rior museum had been secured. These, except the larger 
portion of the Hbrary, were totally destroyed by the fire. 
The building erected after the fire was equipped much 
more nearly in modern style. Improvements and addi- 
tions have been made from time to time, until now all 
the College buildings have modern heating and electric 
lights, and the laboratories are equipped much more com- 
pletely than is usually found in the smaller denomina- 
tional colleges. 

The College now owns five buildings, which, with their 
equipment and grounds, could not be duplicated for 
$135,000. It possesses a cash endowment of $150,000, 
and has recently come into possession of a bequest 
amounting to $5,000. In addition, it owns a 320-acre 
farm in South Dakota worth easily $20,000. 

The campus, located in the southern part of Toledo, is 
a beautiful plat of sixteen acres with a fine park of 
young oaks on the eastern side. It embraces also a fine 
athletic field, with abundant room for all outdoor sports. 

The Administration Building is a large, brick structure 
well located, heated with hot water, with seven large 
recitation-rooms, three laboratories, four elegant literary 
society halls, library, museum, chapel. Christian Asso- 
ciation room, offices, and other rooms, making in all 
twenty-six rooms. Both as to exterior appearance and 
internal arrangement, the building is well adapted to its 
purpose. 

Mary Beatty Hall is a three-story brick structure, 
located near the main building, heated by steam, with 
ten large, neatly-furnished rooms for ladies, parlor, living 
rooms for superintendent's family, kitchen, and dining 
room. It furnishes a pleasant and convenient home for 
young women. 

347 



Western — Leander- Clark College 



^' 



The Athletic Building, a frame structure forty-two by 
eighty- four feet in size, lighted by electricity, with an 
elegant court for indoor games, and seats for three hun- 
dred people, is located on the north side of the campus. 

Bright Conservatory of Music, including Philips Music 
Hall, is located in the central part of the town. It has 
nine rooms for practice and teaching, is equipped with 
necessary pianos, and provides a large hall for recitals 
and other public entertainments. The large organ in the 
United Brethren Church is used for giving lessons on the 
pipe organ. 

Drury Hall, the gift of Rev. M. S. Drury, has been 
remodeled and fitted up as a home for the president of 
the College. It is located on College Avenue, half a 
square from the College campus. 

In laboratory and library facilities the College is espe- 
cially fortunate. The chemical, physical, and biological 
laboratories have been almost wholly refurnished and 
supplied with up-to-date equipment within the last few 
years. The biological laboratory is supplied with micro- 
scopes, microtomes, ovens, baths, charts, models, and 
biological material. The physical laboratory is supplied 
with electrical apparatus, air pumps, delicate balances, 
and all the usual physical equipment. The chemical 
laboratory is provided with desks, test tubes, individual 
sets of reagents, etc. An acetylene gas plant supplies 
fuel for experiments. Investigations are carried on both 
in general and organic chemistry. 

These material equipments are very good so far as 
they go; they are, however, inadequate to meet the de- 
mands even of the present and are growing more inade- 
quate every day for the greater demands of the future. 
A modern college must be up and doing if it is to fulfill 
its mission. 348 



APPENDIX 



REGISTER 

OF 

OFFICERS, FACULTY, AND ALUMNI 



349 



Western — Leander-Clark College 



CORPORATION 



OFFICERS OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES. 

Presidents. 

Rev. Solomon Weaver, 1855-1864; Dr. W. B. Wagner. 
1864-1868; Rev. E. B. Kephart, 1868-1881; Rev. George Miller. 
1881-1902, 1904—....; Major Leander Clark, 1902-1904. 

Secretaries. 

Rev. Martin G. Miller, 1855-1857; Rev. Joseph Wickard. 
1857-1862; Mr. John W. Henderson, 1862-1865; Rev. L. S. 
Grove, 1865-1866; Mr. W. O. Beam, 1866-1868; Mr. A. H. 
Neidig, 1868-1872; Mr. Henry Sheak, 1872-1873; Mr. E. R. 
Hastings, 1873-1877; Rev. W. I. Beatty, 1877-1880; Rev. T. D. 
Adams, 1880-1882; Rev. L. H. Bufkin, 1882-1883; Prof A. M. 
Beal, 1883-1888; Rev. L. B. Hicks, 1888-1894, 1900-1903; Mr. 
W. A. Smith, 1894-1897; Mr. Daniel Reamer, 1897-1900; Mr. 
W. C. Smith, 1903-1907; Prof. J. E. Maxwell, 1907-1909; Prof. 
C. R. Shatto, 1910- 

Treasurers. 

Rev. Daniel Runkle, 1855-1856; Capt. W. H. Shuey, 1856- 
1858; Rev. Solomon Weaver, 1858-1859; Rev. J. Manning, 
1859-1862; Prof. M. W. Bartlett, 1862-1867; Mr. Adam Perry, 
1867-1869; Prof. William Langham, 1869-1870; Miss E. M. 
Guitner, 1870-1871; Rev. Lewis Bookwalter, 1871-1873, 1876- 
1877; Prof. I. L. Kephart, 1873-1876; Mr. W. J. Ham, 1877- 
1878; Rev. M. S. Drury, 1878-1883; Rev. L. H. Bufkin, 1883- 
1887, 1888-1891; Mr. C. L. Mundhenk, 1887-1888; Prof. E. F. 
Warren, 1891-1892; Rev. T. D. Adams, 1892-1894; Mr. S. R. 
Lichtenwalter, 1894-1902; Mr. J. N. Lichty, 1902- 

Business Managers. 
Rev. Solomon Weaver, 1856-1859; Mr. W. J. Ham, 1876- 
1878; Rev. M. S. Drury, 1878-1883; Rev. L. H. Bufkin, 1883- 
1891; Prof. E. F. Warren, 1891-1892; Rev. T. D. Adams, 1892- 
1894; Rev. Daniel Miller, 1894-1895. 

Field Secretaries. 

Rev. J. Wickard, 1856-1859; Rev. R. Logan, 1856-1857; 
Rev. J. Manning, 1857-1863; Rev. A. A. Sellers, 1860-1863; 
Rev. J. Gooden, 1864-1867; Rev. J. Y. Jones, 1867-1868; Mr. 
Dennis Gray,. 1867-1878; Rev. W. S. DeMoss. 1871-1874: Rev. 

350 



Appendix 

M. Fulcomer, 1870-1872; Rev. L. Bookwalter, 1872-1873; Rev. 
I. L. Buchwalter, 1873-1875; Rev. L. H. Bufkin, 1880-1883, 
1891-1894; Rev. M. S. Drury, 1883-1884, 1887-1892, 1893-1894; 
Rev. A. M. Leichliter, 1884-1887; Rev. L. B. Hix, 1885-1887; 
Rev. H. H. Maynard, 1887-1891; Rev. N. F. Hicks, 1899-1902, 
1903-1904; Rev. C. E. Foster, 1902-1903; Rev. R. E. Graves, 
1905-1908; Rev. O. G. Mason, 1909-11. 

Endowment Secretaries. 

Hon. E. C. Ebersole, 1906-1910; Hon. H. J. Stiger, 
1910- 

Financial Secretary. 
Rev. G. E. Chapman, 1907- 

Librarians. 

I. L. Kephart, 1874-1876; W. J. Ham, 1876-1877; Byron 
O. White, 1877-1878; W. I. Beatty, 1878-1880; J. W. Robert- 
son, 1880-1881; A. M. Beal, 1881-1884; I. A. Loos, 1884-1889; 
E. F. Warren, 1889-1892; Mark Masters, 1892-1893; Belle 
Schelling, 1893-1894; D. D. Zilm, 1894-1896; A. O. Jones, 1896- 
1897; W. L. Zimmerman, 1897-1898; H. C. Parsons, 1898- 
1899; H. W. Ward, 1899-1904; E. O. Fiske, 1904-1905; W. L. 
Verry, 1905- 

TRUSTEES. 
Iowa Conference. 

Rev. Solomon Weaver, 1855-1864; Rev. Daniel L Runkle, 
1855-1871; Mr. Jonathan Neidig, 1855-1858; Rev. Martin G. 
Miller, 1867-1870; Rev. Joseph Miller, 1855-1856; Rev. J. E. 
Bowersox, 1856; Capt. W. H. Shuey, 1856-1858; Rev. John 
Gooden, 1857-1866; Rev. Joseph Wickard, 1857-1863; Rev. 
W. W. Richardson, continued North Iowa, 1862-1863; Rev. 
Martin Bowman, 1862-1881; Rev. W. M. Stiles, 1864-1866; 
Mr. John W. Henderson, 1865; Dr. William B. Wagner, 1866- 
1868; Mr. G. S. Mason, 1867-1868; Mr. John Kurtz, 1867; 
Rev. J. G. Stewart, 1869; Mr. Richards, 1869; Mr. A. H. 
Neidig, 1869; Rev. J. H. Vandever, 1870-1874; Mr. John 
Dorcas, 1871-1877; Rev. P. Leonard, 1871-1872; Rev. M. S. 
Drury, formerly North Iowa, 1874-1889; Rev. William Davis, 
1871-1874; Mr. C. Neidig, 1873-1883; Mr. Solomon Lichten- 
walter, 1874-1884; Rev. D. Wenrick, 1878-1884; Mr. R. M. 
Baker, 1884-1893; Rev. T. D. Adams, formerly West Des 
Moines, 1884-1893; Rev. W. I. Beatty, 1884-1905; Rev. Daniel 
Miller, formerly East Des Moines, 1890-1895; Rev. L. B. Hix, 
1893-1902; Rev. M. R. Drury, 1895-1904; Mr. D. H. Kurtz, 
1904-1909; Mr. W. H. Trussell, 1904-1909; Mr. Oliver Hender* 
son, 1906-1907: Mr. John W. Beatty, 1907-1909. 

351 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

North Iowa Conference. 

Rev. W. W. Richardson, formerly Iowa, 1864-1871; Mr. 
Isaac Shafer, 1864-1865; Rev. D. Wenrick, 1864-1866; Mr. 
E. D. Ash, 1864-1868; Rev. M. S. Drury, continued Iowa, 
1866-1874; Mr. E. Fothergill, 1867-1871; Mr. J. C. Rock, 1871; 
Rev. S. B. Stone, 1872-1874; Rev. D. M. Harvey, 1872-1874; 
Rev. William Moore, 1872; Rev. R. D. McCormick, 1873- 
1874; Rev. S. George, 1873-1874. 

Des Moines Conference. 

Rev. J. Hopkins, 1856; Rev. C. Witt, 1856; Rev. J. Man- 
ning, 1858-1866; Rev. W. S. DeMoss, continued East Des 
Moines, 1858-1863. 

East Des Moines Conference. 

Rev. A. Sellers, 1862-1865; Rev. A. A. Corson, 1862-1864; 
Rev. W. H. Mitchell, 1862-1866; Rev. L. S. Grove, 1864-1871; 
Rev. C. B. Davis, 1865-1871; Rev. William M. Davis, 1865- 
1871; Mr. Ransom, 1866-1868; J. H. McVey, 1867; P. Wheeler, 
1867; Rev. W. S. DeMoss, formerly Des Moines, 1871-1877; 
Mr. John Stone, 1871-1884; Rev. W. McKee, 1872-1874; Rev. 
P. Smith, 1873-1875; Rev. A. Stewart, 1872-1874; Rev. M. D. 
Murdoch, 1875-1876; Rev. J. W. Eckles, 1875-1879; Mr. N. 
Stewart, 1876-1881; Rev. M. Faivre, 1877-1878; Rev. R. 
Thresher, 1878-1884; Mr. J. B. L. Hendrix, 1879-1883; Rev. 
Daniel Miller, continued Iowa, 1880-1884, 1887-1889; Rev. 
A. L. Palmer, 1882-1884; Rev. A. Schwimley, 1884-1898; Rev. 
H. D. Bonebrake, 1885-1886; Mr. Isaiah Speaker, 1885-1889. 

West Des Moines Conference. 

Rev. J. B. Cass, 1862-1866; Rev. S. Brooks, 1864-1865; 
Rev. William Jacob, 1871-1872; Rev. J. Simpson, continued 
Des Moines, 1871-1889; Rev. Flaugh, 1871-1872; Mr. C. B. 
Jones, 1871-1874; Mr. J. E. Ham, 1871-1874; Rev. T. D. 
Adams, later Des Moines, 1873-1877; Mr. Jacob Gutshall, 
1873-1884; Mr. Levi Crysher, 1875-1881; Rev. George Miller, 
continued Des Moines, 1875-1889; Rev. L. H. Bufkin, later 
Des Moines, 1878-1884; Mr. Jacob Brown, 1882; Mr. M. H. 
Overholser, 1883-1884; Mr. Adam Shambaugh, later Des 
Moines, 1885-1886; Mr. T. I. Forster, 1887-1889. 

Des Moines Conference. 

Rev. J. Simpson, formerly West Des Moines, 1890-1894; 
Rev. George Miller, formerly West Des Moines, 1889-1909; 
Rev. L. H. Bufkin, formerly West Des Moines, 1895-1898; 
Mr. A. H. Shambaugh, formerly West Des Moines, 1896-1909: 
Hon. John Shambaugh, later at large, 1890-1895; Rev. G. O. 
Porter, 1899-1900; Rev. C. J. Kephart, 1901-1903; Mr. C. 

352 



Appendix 

Osmundson, 1904-1907; Mr. E. H. Jones, 1908-1909; Mr. 
B. F. Fantz, 1908-1909. 

Rock River Conference. 

Rev. J. K. M. Looker, 1864; Rev. I. K. Statton, 1868- 
1877; Rev. E. P. Pierce, 1870; Rev. Palmer, 1871; Rev. J. T. 
Hallowell, 1871; Rev. C. Wendle, 1870-1871, 1889, 1891, 1893- 
1897; Rev. J. H. Grimm, 1871-1880; Rev. J. Johnson, 1872; 
Mr. J. H. Middlekauff, 1872-1878; Mr. Lewis Kretsinger, 1872- 
1875, 1885-1887; Rev. J. W. Bard, 1873-1876; Rev. F. Riebel, 
1876-1881; Rev. J. M. Chitty, 1877-1881; Rev. Parker Hiirless, 
1878-1882; Rev. J. G. Dessinger, 1879-1880; Rev. N. E. Gard- 
ner, 1881-1884; Rev. W. H. Chandler, 1881-1884; Rev. W. S. 
Hays, 1882-1884; Mr. D. E. Middlekauff, 1882-1884; Rev. P. 
M. France, 1883-1888; Rev. H. D. Healey, 1885-1894; Mr. 
D. C. Overholser, later Northern Illinois, 1888-1900; Rev. 
W. M. Weekley, 1892-1896; Rev. J. Groff, continued Northern 
Illinois, 1897-1901; Rev. J. W. Boggess, continued Northern 
Illinois, 1898-1901; Mr. Alexander Anderson, continued North- 
ern Illinois, 1901-1902. 

Minnesota Conference. 
Rev. I. L. Buchwalter, 1870-1872; Rev. J. P. Allaman, 
1871-1873; Rev. J. E. Steiner, 1871; Rev. M. L. Tibbetts, 
1871-1887, 1891-1897; Rev. D. Reed, 1871; Rev. I. N. Nield, 
1871; Rev. J. W. Fulkerson, 1872-1875, 1886; Rev. Joel Gates, 
1872-1881; Rev. A. A. Cady, 1872-1876; Rev. S. D. Kemmerer, 
1874-1885; Mr. C. C. Washburne, 1876-1881; Mr. E. Wool- 
dridge, 1877-1881; Rev. G. H. Varce, 1882-1884, 1898-1902: 
Mr. A. E. Greengo, 1882-1884; Mr. C. F. Smith, 1882-1884; 
Dr. H. H. Wilson, 1885, 1887-1892; Rev. E. J. Reed, 1886- 
1892, 1907-1909; Rev. U. A. Cook, 1888, 1897-1902; Rev. W. C. 
Bacon, 1889-1890, 1893-1896; Rev. D. C. Talbot, continued 
from Wisconsin, 1893-1897; Mr. William O. Haney, 1898- 
1907; Mr. G. L. Conrad, 1903-1905; Rev. W. W. Vine, 1903- 
1906; Mr. Isaac F. Sarff, 1906-.. . . ; Mr. A. F. Zosel, 1908-.. . . 

Wisconsin Conference. 
Rev. G. G. Nickey, 1871-1875, 1884; Rev. S. Sutton, 1871- 
1872; Rev. S. L. Eldred, 1871-1872, 1885-1887; Rev. J. H. 
Grimm, 1871-1872; Rev. J. J. Vaughn, 1871-1875; Rev. E. 
Bovee, 1873-1875, 1885-1886; Rev. E. S. Alderman, 1873-1875; 
Rev. A. W. Alderman, 1873-1875; Rev. D. C. Talbot, later 
Minnesota, 1884, 1888-1892, Mr. David Cross, 1884; Mr. 
George Beach, 1884; Rev. A. Whitney, 1884; Rev. H. Deal, 
1885-1892; Rev. J. H. Richards, 1887-1904; Rev. A. J. Hood, 
1893-1897; Mr. Thomas Gillingham, 1894-1902; Rev. Ida Rich- 
ards, 1898-1903, 1907-1909; Mr. William Dolan, 1903-1905; Rev. 

353 



Western — Lcander-Clark Colic ct- 



is' 



L. L. Thayer, 1904-1906; Rev. L. A. Mclntyre, 1905-....; Mr. 
John Cook, 1905-1907; Mr. R. O. Moon, 1908-1910; Rev. C. B. 
Hoke, 1909- 

Alumni Association. 
Rev. W. T. Tackson, 1876-1877; Rev. L. Bookwalter, 1876- 
1879; Rev. F. M. Washburne, 1876-1878; Rev. A. W. Drury, 
1876-1877; Mr. J. B. Overholser, 1876-1877; Col. A. D. Collier, 
1877-1881; Prof. A. M. Beal, 1878-1896; Rev. R. E. Williams, 
1878-1881. 1893-1900, 1903-1904; Mr. Milo Booth, 1879-1893; 
Mr. W. J. Ham, 1880-1884; Mr. W. H. Klinefelter, 1882-1883; 
Miss Josephine Johnson, 1882-1883; Mr. E. O. Kretsinger, 
1883-1884; Mrs. Catherine Beatty, 1884-1887; Mr. J. L. Drury, 
1884-1887; Rev. J. H. Albert, 1885-1888; Rev. M. R. Drury, 
1887-1888; Mrs. Anna E. Swain, 1888-1890; Hon. Joseph Book- 
waiter, 1889-1890; Rev. C. M. Brooke, 1891-1892; Mr. J. A. 
Runkle, 1891-1892; Mr. T. D. Wilcox, 1893-1899; Rev. R. L. 
Purdy, 1896-1903; Mr. W. C. Smith, 1900-1909; Mr. C. D. 
Baker, 1901-1904; Dr. M. M. Baumgartner, 1904-1909; Mr. 
C. W. Ennis, 1905- . . . . ; Mr. J. A. Shuey, 1909-.. . . ; Mr. R. P. 
Kepler, 1909-....; Mr. A. C. Larsen, 1909-....; Mr. J. J. 
Shambaugh, 1909- 

Dakota Conference. 
Rev. I. D. Rust. 1882-1885; Rev. D. M. Harvey, 1882-1885; 
Rev. A. N. King, 1882-1883; Rev. D. O. Darling, 1882-1883; 
Rev. M. Fulcomer, 1884-1885; Rev. F. L. Moore, 1884-1885. 

East Nebraska Conference. 
Rev. E. W. Johnson, 1882-1884, 1886-1891; Rev. O. D. 
Cone, 1882-1885; Rev. S. Austin, 1882-1884; Rev. W. P. Cald- 
well, 1882-1884; Rev. J. W. Eads, 1882-1884; Mr. C. S. Horn- 
ing, 1883-1889; Rev. S. Cole, 1885-1888; Mr. C. Waulbrandt, 
1886-1889; Rev. F. W. Jones, 1890-1891; Mr. J. M. Romsdal, 
1890-1891. 

Elkhorn Conference. 
Rev. W. R. Bowman, 1882-1885, 1890-1891; Rev. D. D. 
Weimer, 1882-1889; Rev. J. W. Tucker, 1882-1884; Rev. J. E. 
Baxter, 1882-1884; Mr. C. K. Motter, 1882-1886; Rev. W. H. 
Post, 1886-1888; Rev. S. W. Koontz, 1887-1891; Rev. George 
Harding, 1889-1891. 

Colorado Conference. 

Rev. H. Stoufer, 1886-1887; Rev. G. W. Rose, 1886-1888; 

Hon. L. S. Cornell, 1886-1888; Rev. E. Harper, 1888-1891; Rev. 

G. H. Smith, 1889-1891; Rev. W. H. McCormick, 1889-1891; 

Mr. W. 1. Kitely, 1889-1892; Rev. A. Schwimley, 1892-1897; 

354 



Appendix 

Rev. A. Griffith, 1893-1894; Rev. D. Tracey, 1893-1894; Rev. 
J. P. Wilson, 1895-1897; Mr. Samuel Williamson, 1895-1897. 

West Nebraska Conference. 
Rev. C. B. Davis, 1886-1887; Rev. J. D. Frye, 1886-1887; 
Rev. D. S. Shiflet, 1886-1887; Mr. Ed Searson, 1888-1891; Rev. 
G. F. Deal, 1888-1891; Rev. J. M. Eads, 1888-1891; Rev. C. M. 
Brooke. 1889-1890. 

Trustees-at-Large. 

Hon. James Wilson, 1886-1891; Hon. W. F. Johnston, 
1886-1887; Mr. Solomon Lichtenwalter, 1886-1895; Hon. J. A. 
T. Hull, 1888-1889; Hon. L. G. Kinne, 1890-1894; Hon. John 
H. Shambaugh, continued from Des Moines, 1903-....; Hon. 
R. H. Moore, 1892-1893; Hon. Austin Jay, 1893-1894; Hon. 
H. J. Stiger, 1895-1896; Mr. W. H. Withington, 1895-1897; 
Mr. Franz Hertrich, 1896-1898; Major Leander Clark, 1897- 
1899, 1901-1910; Mr. Joseph Storm, 1898-1899; Mr. W. W. 
Runkle, 1899-1902; Mr. A. G. Davidson, 1901-1903; Rev. F. E. 
Brooke, 1904-1908; Judge U. S. Guyer, 1909- 

Michigan Conference. 

Rev. W. O. Bridenstine, 1890-1894; Rev. W. A. Weller, 
1890-1894; Mr. Edwin Parks, 1890-1-892; Mr. J. J. Bear, 1893- 
1894. 

North Michigan Conference. 
Rev. Daniel Dean, 1891-1894; Rev- F. M. McClintock, 
1891-1894; Rev. D. S. Arnold, 1892-1894. 

Northern Illinois Conference. 

Mr. D. C. Overholser, continued from Rock River, 1903- 

; Rev. J. Groff, continued from Rock River, 1902-1907 

Rev. J. W. Boggess, continued from Rock River, 1902-1903 
Mr. Alex. Anderson, continued from Rock River, 1902-.... 
Dr. W. O. Krohn, 1908- 

Iowa State Conference. 

Mr. B. F. Fantz, 19C9-....; Mr. D. H. Kurtz, 1909-....; 
Rev. George Miller, 1909-.. . . ; Mr. Frank P. Perry, 1909-.. . . ; 
Mr. Adam Shambaugh, 1909-....; Mr. W. H. Trussell, 1909- 

Executive Committee. 

J. E. Bowersox, 1856-1868; Solomon Weaver, 1856-1860; 

W. H. Shuey, 1856-1860, 1866-1869; S. S. Dillman, 1857-1858; 

William Parmenter, 1857-1860; Jacob Berger, 1857-1858; J. 

Manning, 1858-1865; William Weed, 1858-1859; W. B. Wag- 

355 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

net, 1858-1865, 1872-1876; M. W. Bartlett, 1858-1867; Joseph 
Wickard, 1858-1860; Jonathan Neidig, 1860-1864; William M. 
Stiles, 1860-1863; H. A. Thompson, 1861-1862; John W. Hen- 
derson, 1862-1865; J. D. Bowman, 1862-1863; W. S. DeMoss, 
1862-1863; D. A. Tawney, 1863-1864; J. A. Shuey, 1863-1864; 
F. B. Hill, 1863-1864; A. H. Neidig, 1863-1870; Benj. Tallman, 
1865-1868; Dennis Gray, 1865-1866; J. W. Horn, 1865-1880; 
J. G. Snyder, 1865-1866; Adam Perry, 1866-1881; Ransom 
Davis, 1866-1881; E. B. Kephart, Chairman, 1868-1881; Homer 
R. Page, 1869-1871; L. M. Healey, 1870-1871; A. C. Gilmore, 
1871-1876; H. A. Dilling, 1876-1879; John Kephart, 1876-1878; 
Ralph Shatto, 1876-1878; S. Dice, 1877-1878; J. Speak, 1877- 
1878; T. Halberson, 1878-1879; David Silver, 1878-1881; J. S. 
Rock, 1879-1881; D. Manning, 1879-1881; W. M. Beardshear, 
Chairman, 1881-1889; E. R. Smith, 1881-....; W. J. Ham, 
1881-1883; W. F. Johnston, 1881-....; E. C. Ebersole, 1881- 
1897, 1902-1907; H. S. Thompson, 1881-1882; Daniel Reamer, 
1883-1886, 1895-1897; H. W. Rebok, 1883-1886; M. S. Drury, 
1884-1892; B. M. Long, 1886-1890; J. S. Mills, Chairman, 1889- 
1892; T. D. Adams, 1892-1893; A. M. Beal, Chairman, 1892- 
1893; J. P. Miller, 1892-1893; J. H. Ross, 1892-1895; A. F. 
Leusch, 1892-1894; A. P. Funkhouser, Chairman, 1893-1894; 
S. R. Lichtenwalter, 1893-....; L. Bookwalter, Chairman, 
1894-1904; W. H. Withington, 1894-1895, 1898-1902; D. Mc- 
Intyre, 1895-1900; Leander Clark, 1897-1898; S. S. Dobson, 
1900-1906; M. R. Drury, 1906-1907; C. J. Kephart, Chairman, 
1905-1908; W. A. Dexter, 1907-....; W. H. Batcher, 1907- 
....; Franklin E. Brooke, Chairman, 1908- 

FACULTY. 
Presidents. 

Rev. Solomon Weaver, 1856-1864; Rev. William Davis, 
1864-1865; M. W. Bartlett (Principal), 1865-1867; Homer R. 
Page (Principal), Fall Term, 1867; E. C. Ebersole (Princi- 
pal), 1867-1868; Rev. E. B. Kephart, 1868-1881; Rev. W. M. 
Beardshear, 1881-1889; Rev. J. S. Mills, 1889-1892; A. M. 
Beal, 1892-1893; Rev. A. P. Funkhouser, 1893-1894; Rev. L. 
Bookwalter, 1894-1904; Rev. C. J. Kephart, 1905-1908; Rev. 
F. E. Brooke, 1908- 

Vice Presidents. 

A. M. Beal, 1887-1891; W. S. Reese, 1891-1894; E. F. 
Warren, 1894-1896; B. F. McClelland, 1896-1900; H. W. 
Ward, 1900- 

Professors. 

Sylvester S. Dillman, Mathematics and Science, 1857- 
1860; Mrs. Emily L. Dillman, Lady Principal, 1857-1860; John 

356 



Appendix 

C. Shraden Anatomy and Physioligy, 1857-1858; M. W. 
Bartlett, Greek and Latin, 1857-1867; William Parmenter, 
M.D., Anatomy and Physiology, 1858-1860; Homer R. Page, 
Natural Science, 1867-1870; E. C. Ebersole, Mathematics, 
1863-1866, 1867-1868; H. A. Thompson, Mathematics, 1861- 

1862; Sarah Jane Miller, Lady Principal, 1860-1863; 

Brittell, 1862-1863; D. A. Tawney, Mathematics and Natural 
Science. 1862-1864; Frances C. Spencer, Lady Principal, 1863- 
1865; P. W. Reeder, 1864-1865; Hester A. Hillis, Lady Prin- 
cipal, 1865-1867; William Langham, Ancient Languages, 1867- 
1870; Emma Guitner Bookwalter, Lady Principal, 1868-1872; 
Francis Kun, Ancient Languages, 1870-1872; Emma Neidig 
Steele, Lady Principal, 1867-1868; Rev. J. S. Aikman, Natural 
Science and History, 1870-1871; L L. Kephart, Natural Sci- 
ence and History, 1871-1876; A. W. Drury, Ancient Lan- 
guages, 1872-1873; Sarah Jane Surran, Lady Principal, 1872- 
1874; Amelia B. Grove, Lady Principal, 1874-1875; A. M. 
Beal, Natural Science, 1881-1891; U. D. Runkle, History and 
German, 1882-1884; Mary Louise Hopwood, Lady Principal, 
1875-1876; Byron O. White, Natural Science and History, 
1877-1879; R. E. Williams, Mathematics, 1876-1877; Anna 
Shuej'^ Swain, Lady Principal, 1876-1881, Mathematics, 1881- 
1885; J. W. Robertson, Ancient Languages, 1880-1881; J. H. 
Albert, Mathematics, 1878-1879; Ancient Languages, 1879- 
1880; Peter Wagner, Natural Science, 1881-1882; Josephine 
Johnson, Assistant Teacher, 1879-1881; Modern Languages, 
1891-1893; J. A. Weller, Ancient Languages, 1881-1887; J. L. 
Drury, Modern Languages, 1881-1882; A. L, DeLong, English 
Literature, 1883-1884; L A. Loos, History and German, 1884- 
1889; Herbert Oldham, Director of Conservatory of Music, 
1885-1890; Thomson Jeffrey, Greek and Latin, 1887-1888; 
J. S. Mills, English Literature, 1887-1889; Philosophy, 1889- 
1893; M. Alice Dickson, Greek, 1888-1889; Henry W. Ward, 
Latin and Mathematics, 1888-1889, Greek and Latin, 1889- 
1893, 1897-1900, English Literature, 1900-....; L. F. John, 
English Literature, 1889-1890; B. M. Long, English Liter- 
ature and History, 1890-1893; W. T. Jackson, Literature and 
History, 1890-1891; J. M. Eppstein, Director of Conservatory 
of Music, 1890-1893; E. A. Zumbro, Natural Science, 1891- 
1893; W. D. Stratton, Natural Science, 1893-1894; A. C. 
Streich, Ancient Languages, 1893-1894; Belle Schelling, Eng- 
lish Literature, 1893-1894; Anna Dell LeFevre, French and 
German, 1893-1895; Hattie Williams, Director of Conserva- 
tory of Music, 1893-1894; Delia Black, Director of Conserva- 
tory of Music, 1894; August Hailing, Director of Conserva- 
tory of Music, 1894-1896; Edward L. Colebeck, Greek and 
Latin, 1894-1897; Arthur Gray Leonard, Geology, 1894-1896; 
Maud Fulkerson, Modern Languages, 1895-1898; Raymond E. 
Bower, Mathematics, 1896-1898; B. A. Sweet, Natural Sci- 

357 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

ence, 1896-1899; W. Francis Gates, Director of Conservatory 
of Music, 1896-1899; Florence M. Cronise, Modern Lan- 
guages, 1898-....; J. A. Ward, Philosophy, 1898-1902; J. F. 
Yothers, Mathematics, 1898-1904, 1905-....; Romanzo Adams, 
Economics and Sociology, 1898-1900; Thomas E. Savage, 
Biology and Geology, 1899-1903; George Pratt Maxim, Di- 
rector of Conservatory of Music, 1899-1901; Marie Book- 
waiter, Voice, 1899-1905; R. P. Dougherty, Greek, 1901-1902; 
Ida B. Fleischer, Modern Languages, 1901-1902; Charles P. 
Fisher, Director of Conservatory of Music, 1901-1902; J. W. 
Bowen, Physical Science, 1902-1904; Charles R. Pearsall, 
Greek and Latin, 1902-1904; John Knowles Weaver, 
Director of Conservatory of Music, 1902-1909; S. W. Collett, 
Geology and Biology, 1903-1905; E. O. Fiske, Mathematics, 
1904-1905; W. L. Verry, Greek and Latin, 1904-....; J. E. 
Maxwell, Chemistry and Biology, 1905-1909; E. S. Smith, 
Didactics, 1905-1907; J. H. Underwood, History and Social 
Science, 1906-1907; L A. Holbrook, History and Social Sci- 
ence, 1907; B. W. Clayton, Voice, 1905-1908; Ross Masters, 
Education, 1907- ; C. R. Shatto, History and Social Sci- 
ence, 1907- ; A. P. Kephart, Physical Science, 1908; G. D. 

Swartzel, Physical Science, 1908-1909; Lillie Logan Kean, 
Voice, 1908-1909; G. E. Chapman, Business College, 1905- 
1907, 1909-1910; M. W. Cunningham, Public Speaking, 1909- 
. . . . ; W. L. Thickstun, Directory of Conservatory of Music, 
1909-1910; Adele Bishop Medlar, Voice, 1909-1910; O. L. 

Lovan, Chemistry, 1909- ; A. L. Leathers, Biology, 1909- 

1910; Leslie A. Kenoyer, Biology, 1910-....; Laurel E. Yea- 
mans, Director of Conservatory of Music, 1910- ; Arthur 

R. Slack, Voice, 1910- 

Instructors, Assistants, and Tutors. 

Mrs. S. R. Pearce, Bookkeeping and Mechanical Draw- 
ing, 1857-1859; Mrs. Jane Bowman, Instrumental Music, 
1862-1863, 1870-1879; Miss J. H. Kumler, Piano, 1866-1868; 
Mrs. Fawcett, Piano, 1866-1867; E. Hastings, Commerce, 
1867-1868; Gertrude Irwin, Music, 1867-1868; J. A. Shuey, 
Mathematics, 1867-1868; Miss Frisbee, Music, 1869-1870; E. F. 
Light, German and Penmanship, 1870-1873; Henry Sheak, 
Bookkeeping, 1870-1873; J. W. Baumgardner, German, 1873- 
1879; Milo Booth, Bookkeeping, 1873-1875; A. L. Marshall, 
Penmanship, 1873-1874; Mrs. S. J. Kephart, Drawing and 
Painting, 1873-1881; W. J. Ham, Tutor, 1874-1877; N. Ferris, 
Phonography, 1875-1877; D. L. Brown, Bookkeeping, 1875- 
1876; R. W. Elliott, Phonography, 1876-1877; F. P. Miller, 
Bookkeeping and Ornamental Penmanship, 1876-1879; W. A. 
Hubbard, Vocal Music, 1876-1877; Eli Ridenour, Penmanship, 
1877-1880; W. S. Varner, Vocal Music, 1877-1879; Mrs. Emma 
Wagner, Bookkeeping, 1879-1880; Mrs. J. J. Zumbrunnen, 

358 



Appendix 

German, 1879-1880; Miss Nellie Flickinger, Instrumental 
Music, 1879-1880; G. W. Miller, Vocal Music, 1879-1881; T. H. 
Studebaker, Bookkeeping, 1880-1882, Principal Commercial 
College, 1907-1908; Mrs. N. Law, Instrumental Music, 1880- 
1881; R. L. Swain, Vocal Music, 1881-1885; Mrs. A. G. Smith, 
Instrumental Music, 1881-1882; Frank P. Smith, Bookkeep- 
ing, 1881-1882; I. H. Bunn, Vocal Music, 1882-1883; Miss 
Gertrude Hogan, Instrumental Music, 1882-1883; G. H. 
Smith, Phonography, 1882-1884; C. L. Mundhenk, Band In- 
struments, 1888-1889; E. B. Hobson, Bookkeeping, 1883- 
1884; H. McVey, Bookkeeping, 1884-1885; Anna V. Zeller, 
Instrumental Music, 1883-1885; F. J. Browne, Tutor in Latin, 
1883-1884; L. F. Loos, German, 1889-1891; J. F. Leffler, Tutor 
in Mathematics, 1884-1885; V. A. Carlton, Geography, 1884- 
1885; O. O. Runkle, Bookkeeping and Commercial Law, 1885- 
1887; Mary E. Kern, Grammar and Physical Geography, 
1885-1886; Bertha C. Morrison, Drawing and Painting, 1886- 
1887; Anna M. Close, Assistant, Piano and Organ, 1886-1888; 
Jesse A. Runkle, English Grammar, 1887; Shorthand, 1890- 
1891; Susie Burroughs, Physical Geography and History, 
1887-1888; Mary A. Woodmansee, Painting and Drawing, 
1887-1890; Mrs. Agnes Baldwin, Violin, 1887-1889; P. L. 
Swearingen, Band Instruments, 1887-1892; J. P. Blaise, Short- 
hand, 1887-1891; Emma Kilmer, Shorthand, 1887-1891; W. M. 
Johnson, Instructor in Mathematics, 1888-1890; G. W. An- 
derson, Assistant, Piano and Organ, 1888-1889; Esther But- 
ler, Instructor in History, 1889-1890; E. F. Buchner, Instruc- 
tor Preparatory Department, 1889-1890; Luella Pickett, 
Shorthand and Typewriting, 1889-1890; Miss U. N. Smith, 
Piano and Organ, 1889-1890; Minnie Whitten, Physical Geog- 
raphy, 1889-1890; Ella Mobley, Painting and Drawing, 1890- 
1891; Floy Lawrence, Piano and Organ, 1890-1891; May 
Spencer, English Grammar, 1891-1892; Mrs. Idah Tracy 
Eppstein, Elocution, 1891-1893; Flora Wonser, Painting and 
Drawing, 1891-1896; Fannie Strong, Assistant, Piano and 
Organ, 1891-1892; Irma Eldridge, Violin, 1891-1892; W. A. 
Smith, Principal College of Commerce, 1891-1893; S. E. 
Clapp, Shorthand and Typewriting, 1891-1894; U. S. Guyer, 
Penmanship, 1891-1892: A. S. Gibbs, Teacher of Athletics, 
1891-1892; Rev. J. P. Miller, Biblical Literature, 1892-1893; 
Theodore Rude, Stringed Instruments, 1893-1894; Edgar U. 
Logan, Principal College of Commerce, 1893-1897; Rev. J. B. 
Chase, Biblical Literature, 1893-1894; Rev. W. I. Beatty, Bib- 
lical Literature, 1894-1898; Anna Richards, Elocution, 1895- 
1897; John H. Stair, Shorthand and Typewriting, 1895-1896; 
Mrs. Catherine R. Reamer, Painting and Drawing, 1896- 
1902; W. R. Morrow, Assistant in Greek and Latin, 1897- 
1898; Mrs. Minnie Gates, Elocution and Oratory, 1897-1899; 
H. B. Trindle, Principle College of Commerce, 1897-1898; 

359 



Western — Lcander-Clark Collep 



r 



Maude Ebersole, Shorthand and Typewriting, 1898-1899; 
Mary R. Peterson, Elocution and Oratory, 1899-1900; W. A. 
Brenner, Shorthand and Tj^pewriting, 1899-1901; Principal 
College of Commerce, 1901-1903; G. Mabel Wallace, Elocu- 
tion and Oratory, 1900-1901; Ray B. Withington, Assistant, 
College of Commerce, 1900-1901; Forrest S. Cartwright, Elo- 
cution and Oratory, 1901-1902; Mrs. L. R. McClelland, In- 
structor in Preparatory Department, 1901-1905; C. H, Elliott, 
Assistant in Chemistry and Commerce, 1902-1905; Mrs. May 
Louise Wilson, Elocution and Oratory, 1902-1907; John 
Ellston, Principal, College of Commerce, 1903-1905; Harriet 
M. Hasse, Violin, 1903-1904; Roy L. Steffa, Violin, 1905-1906; 
Jesse H. Gray, Shorthand and Typewriting, 1905-1906; Zoa 
Miller, Art, 1905-1906; Mabel Owen, Assistant in Organ, 
1906-1908; Zae Cannon, Violin, 1906-1910; Mrs. W. C. Pierce, 
Shorthand and T3^pewriting, 1906-....; Nellie H. Boone, 
Art, 1906-1908; Stella H. Ells, Elocution and Oratory, 1907- 
1909; Cloetta Rebok, Assistant, Piano and Organ, 1908-1909; 
Agnes Blinn, Art, 1909-1910; Oley A. Kintz, Principal, Busi- 
ness College, 1908-1909; Dr. F. P. St. Clair, Medical Exam- 
iner and Coach, 1909- ; Winifred Walden, Instructor in 

English and Latin, 1909- ; Mrs. Grace Tucker Slack, 

Violin and Art, 1910- ; Dona Hanna, Assistant, Piano 

and Pipe Organ, 1910- 



360 



■ Appendix 



HONORARY ALUMNI. 
Doctor of Laws. 

Judge L. G. Kinne, 1890; Hon. Ezra C. Ebersole, 1894, 
Dr. J. C. Shrader, 1894; Senator William B. Allison, 1906; 
President Lewis Bookwalter, 1906; Hon. James Wilson, 
1906; Major Leander Clark, 1907. 

Doctor of Divinity. 
Bishop John Dickson, 1876; Rev. W. J. Primer, 1882; 
Bishop J. W. Hott, 1882; Rev. I. L. Kephart, 1884; President 
D. D. DeLong, 1884; Rev. M. H. Smith, 1890; Bishop Nich- 
olas Castle, 1890; Rev. George Miller, 1891; Rev. M. R. 
Drury, 1891; Rev. I. K. Statton, 1891; Rev. H. S. Jenanyan, 
1905; Rev. John W. Nelson, 1907; Rev. John Henry Albert, 
1907; Rev. Frank Bruner, 1907; President B. F. Daugherty, 
1908; Rev. Emory W. Curtis, 1909; Rev. Nelson A. Mershon, 
1909; Rev. Richard J. Parrett, 1909; Rev. A. E. Wright, 1910. 

Doctor of Music. 

H. S. Perkins, 1885. 

Master of Arts. 

Rev. W. H. Goodison, 1871; M. B. Bartlett, 1876; Dr. 
J. C. Shrader, 1877; Dr. John North, 1879; Dr. Gustavus 
North, 1880; L. S. Cornell, 1886; Rev. T. D. Adams, 1890. 

Bachelor of Philosophy. 

H. D. Hathaway, 1876. 

Bachelor of Pedagogy. 

Moses Johnson, 1888. 



361 



Western — Leander-Clark College 



ALUMNI. 

College of Liberal Arts. 
1864 

William Taylor Jackson, Emma Neidig Steele. 

1865 

Jacob Augustus Shuey. 

1868 
Mary Beam Emerson, Amelia Grove Harden. 

1869 
Elnora A. Cook, Joseph B. Overholser, Homer R. Page. 

1870 

Martha Allison Washburn. 

1871 
Alfred D. Collier. 

1872 

Lewis Bookwalter, William Henry Custer, Augustus Waldo 
Drury, Marion Richardson Drury, Francis Rhinehart Fry, Sallie 
Perry Kephart, Lucy Strother Williams, Anna Shuey Swain, 
Sarah Surran Light, Robert Erwin Williams. 

1873 
Thomas Jefferson Bauder, Milo Booth, Henry G. Bowman, 
Eva Drury McHose, Enoch Faber Light, William Kendrick Riggs, 
Henry Sheak, John Wesley Surran. 

1874 

William Bower Arble, Luther M. Conn, Cyrus Jeffries Kep- 
hart, Alvin Lyman Marshall, Francis Marion Washburn. 

1875 
John Henry Albert, Mildred Gambrel, Mary Louise Hop- 
wood. 

1876 

Albert Milton Beal, William Irons Beatty, Sophia Book- 
waiter Drury, Mary Clarissa Hedges PeMey, Jeannette Belle Hop- 
wood, William Henry Kauffman, Frank S. Smith. 

362 



Appendix 

1877 
Joseph Bookwalter, Arsemus Richmond Burkdol, William 
Jasper Ham, John Martin Horn, Josephine Johnson, Sarah Jane 
McAlvin, John Augustus Moore, Abram Hershey Neidig, Urias 
D. Runkle, Australia Patterson Shumaker, Catherine Patterson 
Beatty, Almina Woolridge Hopwood. 

1878 

John Wesley Baumgardner, Arthur Melbourne Moore. 

1879 

William Henry Klinefelter, Walter LeRoy Linderman, Daniel 
Miller, Eliza Moore Miller, Emma Patton Davis. 

1880 

William Otterbein DeMoss, Louisa Halverson Albert, Ernest 
Otterbein Kretsinger, George D. Mathewson, Eli H. Ridenour, 
James Wesley Robertson. 

1881 

Adeline Dickman Miller, John Lawrence Drury, Mary Ellen 
Horn Drury, George McAnelly Miller, Alice Singley Wilson, 
Robert Rush Wilson. 

1882 

Walter Clarence Smith, Thomas Henderson Studebaker. 

1883 

Emma Jane Howard Weller, Willis Eaton Johnson. 

1884 

Isaiah L. Albert, Kate Adell Coates Russell, Daniel Folkmar, 
Frank J. Browne, Vivian Albert Carlton, John F. Leffler, Anna 
Maiden LeMer, Charles Fremont Schell, Richard LaRue Swain. 

1886 

Lucy Blinn Sears, Charles Morgan Brooke, John P. Hen- 
dricks, Simeon Jethro Lowe, Cora Middlekauff Dick, James A. 
Merritt, Josephine Patterson Wonser, Eugene Riley Smith, Cyrus 
Holland Timmons. 

1887 

Daisy Gallion Smith, Mary Emma Greenlee, Myrtle Jarvis 
Miller, Charles Lincoln Mundhenk, Jesse A. Runkle, Minnie 
Whitten Barnes. 

1888 

Charles E. Bennett, Peter O. Bonebrake, Esther Butler 
Austin, Clara Cozad Keezel, Elnora Dickman Richie, Daniel G. 

363 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

Filkins, Gazelle Holstead Rogers, Lawrence Keister, Emma May 
Kephart Roop, E. Geneve Lichtenwalter, Mary T. Louthan, Alvin 
H. Patterson, Albert Edward Slessor, Edna Thompson Rehok, 
Henry Winfield Ward, Thomas Dwight Wilcoix, William M. 
Zumbro. 

1889 

Eugene D. Abrams, Charles D. Baker, Squire Trevelyn 
Beatty, Edward Franklin Buchner, Oliver Benjamin Chitty, 
Horace C. Coe, Benjamin F. Cokely, Etta Fulcomer Winter, 
William Oterbein Krohn, John Albert Ward. 

1890 

Simon Peter Gary, Jeremiah S. George, Franz Seigel Hettler, 
Clarence Ward Ingham, Lulu Maude Kephart John, Jesse Jessen 
Kolmos, Susie Lichtenwalter Riggs Harper, William Grant Little, 
May Middlekauff Runkle, Erwin William Runkle, William Elias 
Schell, Charles Rollin Shatto, William Avery Smith, Arthur 
Biggs Statton, Emma Stauffer, Frank E. Stouffer, Samuel Mar- 
cellus Stouffer, Willis Austin Warren, Roderick Freeman Watts. 

1891 

Anna Brabham Osborn, Newton Weldon Burtner, Nelson P. 
Cronk, Howard H. Everett, Jennie Fearer Truehlood, William 
Potter Fearer, William E. Fee, Elmer E. Fix, Fannie Heistand 
Fix, Hiram O. Green, William Otterbein Harper, Lloyd Fisher 
Loos, Clark D. Spencer. 

1892 

Williarn B. Barnett, Charles W. Brewbaker, Isaac N. Cain, 
Annetta Dickman Wilkins, Mary Pitman Donaldson Dennis, 
Addie Ingersoll Humphrey, Nellie Irons Ross, Richard P. Kepler, 
Malvern H. Kepler, Clara Mason Scutt, Mary Mutch Cain, Emma 
Maynard Ross, Belle Schelling Allen, Louise Shambaugh Jones, 
Harriet Tyner Lowry. 

1893 

Lewis H. Gehman, Anna Hild Franks, Howard M. Hum- 
phrey, Ferdinand W. Jones, Amos S. Main, Ida Richards, Mary 
B. Spencer, W. D. Stratton, Sidney Alcott Wheelwright. 

1894 

Frank Greenville Beardsley, Ulysses Samuel Guyer, J. F. 
Hull, Frank E. Kaufman, Mark Masters, L. E. Maker, Joseph H. 
McClain, Richard L. Purdy, Henry Eugene Slattery, Lola Adams 
Statton. 

1895 

Franklin E. Brooke, James Keel Coddington, Samuel Erwin 
Long, Charles F. Peterson, G. Ellis Porter, James C. Sanders. 

364 



Appendix 

1896 

A-Ifred Guitner Bookwalter, Frank K. Long. 

1897 

Milton M. Baumgartner, Philo Walker Drury, John Eldon 
Foster, George Wesley Porter, Herman A. Runkle, Lucie Smith 
Baumgartner, Elizabeth Bessie Schoolcraft Ward, Edwin Beecher 
Ward. 

1898 

Edward B. Berger, Ethel Bookwalter Burtner, Frank E. 
Buck, John Watt Goddington, James W. Irons, Clarence A. Jenks, 
John N. Lichty, Alvin L. Speaker, Gharles Fry Ward, Olive Wil- 
liams, Blanche Williams, Louise Wolpert Stover. 

1899 

Frank E. Field, Leon L. Hammitt, Grace Holstead, Charles 
E. Locke, Albert Mathern, Clarence B. Mericle. 

1900 

Wilson Grant Bear, Ernest Allen Benson, Nettie Cunning- 
ham, William Johnston Harrison, Blanche Hutchison Soth, Theo- 
dore Jorgensen, Julia Overholser Drury, Mildred Smith Runkle, 
Grace Wolpert Ward, Samuel Snyder Wyand. 

1901 

Charles Emmett Berger, Grace Bookwalter, William Arthur 
Brenner, Harry Goddington, Walter Scott Donat, James Corneal 
Harrigan, George Brown Jackson, Mabel Smith, Wesley Rhine- 
hart Stouffer, Lois Talbot, Hollen Samuel Thompson, John 
Robert Trindle, Arthur Allen Ward, Jacob Henry Yaggy. 

1902 

Rilla Aiken Southard, Alice Bookwalter Ward, Hiram Walter 
Cramer, Nellie Cronk Adams, Ralph Mason Hix, Claude Henry 
Morton, Joseph Martin Skrable, Joseph Harding Underwood. 

1903 

Angle Aiken, Earl Isaac Doty, Frank A. Gageby, August 
Cornelius Larsen, Jefferson Roy McAnelly, Lona Rebok, Barnett 
Freeman Roe, John Jacob Shambaugh, Carl Blinn Stiger, Ger- 
trude May Thomas, Ernest Clayton Taylor. 

1904 

Edith Camery McClaskey, Ethelbert Fletcher Clark, Clarence 
H. Elliott, Glenn Wilford Emerson, Charles Wilbur Ennis, 
Emery Nelson Ferris, Charles Theodore Hedges, Adam Perry 
Kephart, Harland Travy Miller, Lee Sanford Riggs, Emma E. 
Riggs, Florence Soth, Clyde Homer Stauffer, William Charles 
Sullivan. 

365 



Western — Leander-Clark College 

1905 

Maud Ageton, Jane Benson Miller, George H. Cotton, Luther 
Drury, Herbert Paul Giger, Georgianna Jenks, Charles Merwin 
Kremer, David James McDonald, John Franklin Mericle, Glen- 
more Edward Maxfield. 

1906 

Benjamin Franklin Crenshaw, Edith Curtis, Knight E. Fee, 
Charles Eldon Foster, William Walace Hart, William Beam 
Owen, Scott Shambaugh. 

1907 

Grace Lauretta Ball, Laura May Benson, Ross Danforth Ben- 
son, Clara May Fee, Frank Jarvis, Mary Helen Lee, George 
Ernest Lee, Floyd Fosler Speaker, Mary Elizabeth Trussell 
Walden, Mabel Wright, Lloyd Frank Walden. 

1908 

Rebecca Ellen Caldwell, Earl B, Forney, Truman Fontanelle 
Gait, Jessie J^nks, Mabel Kephart Soth, Charles L. Mericle, Fred 
T. Mayer Oalces, M. Ray Soth. 

1909 

Lloyd E. Bear, Alva Otto Bishop, George E. Chapman, Eliza- 
beth Talbot Doty, Charles H. Geil, Arthur James Hagerman, 
Mabel Lewis, Hugh B. Lee, Alta Smith, Olga Smith, Clyde Earl 
Thomas, Dewey Cecil Violet, Maude Youngman. 

1910 

Boone Winthrop Brooke, Florence Benson, Mabel Curtis 
Browne, Ralph Wilkinson Johnson, Lee R. Jackson, Edith Maud 
Lee, Ada Mary Meyers, Robert Rebok, Fred Riggs, Carlton M. 
Richards, Earl E. Speaker, John Ward Studebaker, Claude H. 
Studebaker, Floyd Pitner St. Clair, Ruth Talbot, Floyd Sylvanus 
Westfall. 



366 



